


It's Not Kidnapping if They Like It

by orphan_account



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Because apparently thats a thing i did now, Child Abuse, Death, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Implied Relationships, M/M, Minor Finland/Sweden (Hetalia), Non-country AU, Sadness, Specifically Denmark/Netherlands, Why have other people asked that question, characters introduced as the story goes on, mild violence, sadness is also a thing now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-08-20 13:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 24,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8251135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A convenience store incident leads 12-year-old sociopath Lukas to (accidentally) kidnap a 10-year-old Emil...who's oddly happy about it.





	1. Escaping-Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Am I the only one who feels weird filling in the character tags? Because it's asking for the name of a person, ya know? But no, I'm typing in countries.  
> I'm in a weird fandom o-o

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A poor, beaten-down Emil runs away from his abusive parents, only to run into a bit of trouble at the store.

Life is unfair; everyone knows that. Still, sometimes Emil can’t help wondering why life seemed especially unfair towards him. He was a quiet, polite, young boy who never did anything to hurt anyone in his life. And yet…

_“Damn brat! Go back to your room! I swear, having you was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”_

_“Our lives would be better without you. You’re lucky we haven’t just left you out on the streets.”_

_“How could any parent love a kid like you?”_

...people still liked hurting him. He curled up in the corner of the small closet that was supposed to be his room, on the small mat that was supposed to be his bed, and forced himself not to cry.

“All I did...was ask for food…” the boy sniffled, voice shaking.

Emil carefully rubbed at the gash that had recently been inflicted on his left temple. He drew his hand back to find that he was bleeding; and rather badly at that. He didn’t understand. His parents had both been quietly sitting at the dining room table, not even talking to each other. It wasn’t like Emil had interrupted anything by asking if he could finish off the sandwich his father clearly had no intention of eating. So why had his father struck him so hard? And why did his mother always feel the need to tell him every day how much she hated him?

Sure, he understood that it could be stressful raising a child when you could barely afford to take care of yourself, but it wasn’t like he asked to be born. In fact, he rarely asked for anything, seeing as he learned early on in his life that doing so would result in a harsh, yet undeserved beating.

It wasn’t his fault his parents were a couple of useless drunks that couldn’t keep a job. It wasn’t his fault that neither of them were competent enough for birth control. So why did his parents blame everything wrong with their lives on him? The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and a recurring thought popped into his head.

Why not just run away? How much worse could it be on the streets than it was in his twisted home? Of course, he’d considered this many times in the past, but he’d always been too afraid to actually do it. This time felt different though, as if all the rage he’d built up and kept hidden all these years was surfacing at once, and this time he couldn’t contain it.

Finally, Emil made the decision. This time, he would finally do it. Feeling confident that he could do just fine on his own, he slammed opened his ‘bedroom’ door and ran straight for the front door. He didn’t even look back to see his parents’ astonished faces, or to check if they were following him. He just ran out the door, onto the street, and into the town.

* * *

 

After hours of aimlessly roaming the streets and simply enjoying his new freedom, Emil was hit with the realization that he was still starving. His parents had been neglecting to feed him lately, more so the past few days than usual.

All he’d had in the past week was whatever he’d managed to sneak from the pantry at night while his mother slept and his father went out with friends. He glanced around his surroundings to try and figure out the best next course of action. His eyes landed on a convenience store, and immediately he found himself wandering towards it.

As he entered the store, Emil was instantly aware of the strange looks he was getting from the other customers. He wasn’t surprised: his clothes were dirty and worn out, and his face was covered in dried blood. The boy gave an awkward smile before browsing the aisles of the store. He’d never seen so much food in his life, and it caused his stomach to growl. Emil had never stolen anything before, but he had no money and he really needed something to eat…

Ignoring his own conscience, he began carefully shoving small items into his pockets when he sure no one was looking. He slowly made his way around until he was standing in the aisle nearest the exit, preparing to make a run for it. He was just about to make his move, when someone shouted,

“Hey, that kid’s a thief! Stop him!”

and someone roughly grabbed him from the side.


	2. Escaping-Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A frightened Lukas accidentally commits a terrible crime and runs away from home; only to run into more trouble at a store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I did make this chapter summary almost exactly like the last one. Yes, it was on purpose. No, I have no regrets.

Lukas had always known there was something wrong with him. In elementary school he quickly realized he was nothing like the other kids. He never socialized with anyone, never played any games, never laughed, never smiled. His face was a blank slate, void of emotion. Sure sometimes he did feel something close to being happy, and there were times when something would amuse him. He just didn’t show it.

Over the years he began to notice some other abnormalities though. He could never understand why sometimes other kids would cry at the things he said, especially when he was just stating facts. Like the stupid girl from third grade that cried for ten minutes just because he pointed out that her hair was an absolute mess and that her outfit was entirely mismatched. He thought he’d been helping her, but everyone else told him he was a jerk. Another thing Lukas noticed was that he didn’t truly understand what it meant to be ‘sorry.’ He knew that by definition it was to regret one’s actions, or feel remorse for causing harm. But what was regret? What was remorse? He began to wonder if he just didn’t understand these feelings, or if he was incapable of feeling them.

He eventually got that answer. One day, in seventh grade, he came home to find a psychiatrist in his house. After hours of undergoing irritating tests and performing various tedious tasks, he was told that he had “staggering sociopathic tendencies.” Whatever the hell that meant. For a while, Lukas brushed it off like it was nothing. He had no reason to believe this news would disrupt his life in any ways. He was still the same person.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. One night, when he couldn’t sleep, Lukas wandered downstairs to grab a snack. That was when he heard his parents discussing something that made him feel something he never had before: fear.

“He isn’t normal. We don’t know how to raise a kid like this.” he heard his father say.

“We’ve been doing fine so far!” his mother insisted.

“Fine? What do you mean fine? If we were doing fine, we wouldn’t have had to contact a psychiatrist.”

“So what, you just want to send our baby boy away?”

“What other choice do we have? You heard the doctor, if we don’t take care of him properly he could become a danger to society. Do you want to raise a serial killer?”

Lukas was dumbfounded. A serial killer? He’d never even gone so far as to kill an ant before! Sure, his impaired ability to understand emotions could complicate things, and his complete inability to feel regret could seem like the perfect trait for a killer...but that didn’t mean he had to be a bad person. He was still the same innocent preteen he’d been yesterday.

“So we’ve decided then?”

“Yes. We’ll send him off as soon as possible. Maybe even tomorrow if we can.”

“Okay.”

Upon hearing this, Lukas’s fear boiled over into anger. How could his own parents do this to him? Why is it that after twelve years of telling him they loved him, and that it was his uniqueness that made him so special, they were suddenly so willing to throw him away? They lied to him. They always said they’d love him no matter what. All that was washed away in one day. They were actually sending him away… Suddenly the fear kicked back in, mixing with the anger to create a horrible, sickening feeling. In a panic, Lukas sprinted from where he’d been hiding, perched on the stairs. He ran straight for the kitchen, grabbing a knife and pointing it at the only two people he’d ever felt any affection towards.

“You can’t do this. You can’t just just throw me away. I won’t allow it.” he said, surprisingly calmly.

“Sweety...how much did you hear?” his mother questioned cautiously.

“The part where you guys don’t want me anymore...that you want to send me away. That you think I’m a killer…”

“Son, we never said we thought you were a killer. It’s just that your mental state makes you more likely to be one…” his dad stated unhelpfully.

“...So that’s really how you feel, huh? Fine. Then I’ll just leave. If I’m going to be stuck alone, then at least let it be my choice.” Lukas muttered quietly, surprised with himself. He didn’t really want to leave his home, but he’d rather run away than be sent away to some looney bin. The boy gathered his courage and turned away, walking towards the front door. He was almost out when his dad grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

“Let go, dad.”

“No. You’re still in my house and you still have to listen to me. If I say you’re going to the mental facility then dammit you better-” He never did get to finish that sentence. In a blind rage, Lukas had swung his knife, piercing his father’s throat. The young blonde recoiled in shock, unable to believe what he’d just done. He hadn’t meant to...he really didn’t. He just wanted his dad to let go, that was all.

“D-Dad...I...I didn’t mean...it was an accident!” Lukas shouted, but his dad didn’t respond. He couldn’t respond. “Mom? You know me right? You know it was an accident?”

His mother said nothing.

“I’m still just your baby boy, right? That’s what you said...” he continued, starting to panic.

He couldn’t bear looking at the horrified, hurt look on his mom’s face. Suddenly, she snapped out of her daze and started screaming. She knelt over her husband’s body, checking for any signs of life. That was the last time Lukas would ever see his mom; with her crying over the man he’d just killed.The boy sprinted out the front door and into the night, where he found an alleyway to hide in. He clutched the bloodied knife his chest, ready to use it if he had too.

* * *

 

After staying up nearly all night, Lukas slept in until mid afternoon the next day. Despite all the rage and terror he’d felt the previous night, he felt oddly normal again upon waking up. He calmly rose and began analyzing his situation. What should his next move be? His stomach grumbled and he decided that food was a good first step. He hid his knife in his pocket and set off. After a while of walking around, Lukas happened upon a nice looking convenience store. He went in and shamelessly walked through the aisles, hiding whatever he needed in his pockets.

He was heading towards the exit when something caught his eye. In the aisle nearest the exit, crouched a small boy with shimmering silver hair. The kid couldn’t have been more than ten years old, and was wearing filthy, torn up clothes. When the boy turned his head, Lukas noticed the dried blood coating half his face, and the multiple bruises there as well. The poor child was a wreck, but Lukas found him oddly mesmerizing; he couldn’t look away.

Unfortunately, this caused him to stand at the exit for far too long, and someone noticed him, calling out, “Hey, that kid’s a thief! Stop him!”

A security worker began running towards him, but Lukas thought quickly. He reached into the aisle, roughly grabbing the boy from earlier and pulling him to his chest. He pulled out his knife, holding it to the boy’s throat.

“Stop, stop right there! Let me go or I kill this kid!” he shouted. This wasn’t like him, not at all. He really was starting to seem like a psycho.

Everyone in the store froze and watched in horror. Lukas felt the slightest twinge of pity when the boy in his arms began to tremble and whimper. Still, he couldn’t stop now. Lukas continued holding the boy tightly, slowly backing away until he was out of the store. Once he was sure they were far enough away, he grabbed the boy’s wrist and started running. Luckily for him, the kid decided to along with it, and ran with him.

Eventually the two of them reached the alleyway that Lukas had camped in the night before. He released the boy’s wrist and turned him so he could look at him.

“You’re not really gonna kill me, right?” the boy asked, whimpering softly. He looked up at Lukas with the most beautiful violet eyes, eyes that held nothing but fear. Again, Lukas found himself pitying the poor soul.

“No, I don’t think I will. I just needed a way to get out of there, and you happened to be the perfect target.” he stated plainly. The boy seemed satisfied with this answer.

“So kid, what’s your name? And what happened to your face?” Lukas asked. “Huh? Oh! I’m Emil. And my dad just hits me a lot...that’s all.” the kid, Emil, stated. The kid was blushing and staring at the floor. “That’s why I ran away today!” He exclaimed suddenly, seeming proud of his accomplishment.

“You’re a runaway too, huh?” Lukas wondered. “Well...I think I’ll just keep you then.” he said, lifting the smaller boy up.

“What!?” Emil shouted, blushing madly and trying to squirm free.

“Well you don’t have anywhere better to be, right? So from now on, you belong to me. No arguments.” Lukas stated firmly, holding Emil more securely.

“Fine…” the boy muttered, trying to subtly cuddle up closer. “B-But not because I like you or anything. I just don’t have anywhere better to be, a-and I get bored easily when I’m alone.”

“Whatever you say, kid.” Lukas said, smirking slightly. He was going to enjoy his new companion.


	3. Say it Again

* * *

Emil sighed contently, happily cuddling up to his new companion. He wasn't sure why, but despite the older boy's actions, Emil felt strangely secure around him. Something about him just Emil feel warm and safe, and he felt that he could trust him. 

"So...what's your story? Why'd you run away? And what's your name?" He questioned curiously. The older male sighed.

"My name's Lukas. Long story short, I found out my parents were going to get rid of me so I ran off." Lukas explained, not wanting to get into the details. 

"Oh...that sucks." Emil muttered, not sure what else to say. The boy looked up at his captor, and got a good look at him for the first time. He was instantly entranced by the older boy's deep purple eyes. It was such a beautiful color, unlike any other he'd ever seen. He examined Lukas's silky blond hair, curiously admiring his one odd curl. 

When Emil returned his gaze back to the other's eyes, he found Lukas staring at him with unpleased expression. 

"Is something wrong?" The boy asked. Lukas just continued looking at him before setting him down and bluntly stating,

"Take off your shirt."

"W-What?!" Emil stammered, his face immediately flushing a bright red. "Why would I do that?!"

"Just do it." was all he got in response.

Hesitantly, the boy did as he was told. Lukas was taken aback by the dark bruises and various scars covering the small child's torso. The sight tore at his heart in way that nothing else ever had; it was just so sad.

Reminding himself of his original task, Lukas grabbed the torn up shirt from Emil's hands and turned to briskly walk towards a dripping pipe further down the alleyway. He dampened the cloth before returning to Emil, and began gently rubbing the blood off his face. 

"Seriously? That's all you needed my stupid shirt for?Dammit why didn't you just tell me that to begin with?! I thought you were some kind of pervert or something!" Emil shouted, pouting and glaring at the blond. 

"Hmm...I supposed I could have done that..." Lukas begin, considering this for a minute. "But then I wouldn't have gotten to see your cute blushing face."

Emil's blush darkened. "Y-You jerk!" He screamed. 

Lukas ignored that last comment, smiling ever-so-slightly as he got last bit of blood off of Emil's adorable pouting face. 

"There. All done." He said, handing the boy his shirt back. 

"Thanks." Emil muttered irritably, putting his shirt back on. He flinched as the cold, bloody cloth made contact with his skin. 

The boys stared at each other silently for a while, observing each other with fascination. They both wondered what kind of person the other was. Eventually, it was Emil who broke the silence. 

"You know, I was scared half to death back at that store. For a moment I thought I'd gotten caught...cuz I was stealing too." The boy said. "It wasn't much less scary getting kidnapped either." 

"Well I'm not going to apologize for that. It worked out well." Lukas shrugged. "So, what did you manage to snag?"

"Not a lot" Emil admitted. "I don't really have a lot of pockets like you do." 

Emil reached into his small pants pockets and pulled out all the snacks he'd managed to get his hands on at the store. If you rationed it, it would probably last about two days. Not bad for a beginner. 

"What about you? What did you get?" He asked, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. He was like a kid opening a Christmas present, anxious and giddy over what he might get. 

 _Adorable._ Lukas thought. 

He reached into his large sweatshirt pocket, pulling out a few snacks and couple bottles of water. He then reached into the pockets of his pajama pants (for he'd never had time to change out of what he'd worn to bed the night before) and produced a few cans of soup and couple of candy bars. 

Between the two of them, they had about enough to last them a week. 

Lukas nearly laughed when he saw the expression on the silver-haired boy's face. Violet eyes went wide, amazed by the amount of food laid out before him. 

Emil looked up at the older boy, silently begging with his eyes to be allowed to eat something. Lukas chuckled softly, handing over one of the candy bars. 

"Here." He said, watching the child's face light up with excitement. 

Emil gladly accepted the candy bar, practically tearing the wrapper off and taking a huge bite. He chewed carefully for nearly a whole minute before swallowing it and sighing happily. 

"Thank you, Lukas." He said, hugging the older boy.

"No problem. Technically I wouldn't have any of this right now without your help, so I should be thanking you." Lukas replied. 

Emil giggled cutely, finishing off the candy. He buried his face in Lukas's chest, enjoying the warmth. 

"I don't know if you're just using me, or if you really wanna be friends..." He mumbled. "but I just want you to know that you kind of remind me of a brother."

"What are you talking about, Emil?" Lukas looked down at him in confusion. 

"You would probably have an easier time getting around without me from now on...but you're so nice to me instead. You don't have to be, but you are. Like a big brother." Emil explained, looking up to meet to blond's gaze. 

"A big brother..." Lukas echoed. He liked the sound of that. "Say it again." He demanded. 

"Big brother?" The boy repeated, confused.

"Yes, that. Say it again."

"Okay. Big brother." Emil said, more surely this time. 

"Emil, I want you to call me that from now on, okay?" Lukas requested. 

"You're so weird, Lukas." Emil stated. 

The older male frowned. "I take that back. You  _will_  call me that from now on. Or else. This is an order." 

The smaller boy chuckled. "Relax, big brother. I never said I wasn't going to do it. Sheesh, you're such a creep." 

Lukas blushed. "Shut up." 

Emil giggled and snuggled up to him again. Dammit this boy was too cute. Something about him made Lukas feel so many things he never had before. Excitement, embarrassment, pity, sympathy, and an overwhelming happiness unlike any other he'd ever known. 

Lukas was suddenly overcome by the sense that he could never ever let this boy go. He would hold on to him and protect him at all costs, forever. This he promised himself. 

As he held on to the strange strange little boy, Lukas could practically feel all his worries slipping away, and all he could do was look down and admire his precious, new, little brother.


	4. One Does Not Simply Steal From Tino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lukas falls ill and Emil goes to get him help, only to run into an interesting trio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so apparently I was so busy with my film project and my storybook project, that I forgot about my four page essay. Sorry this took so long, but that Asian life is stressful.

   Over the next week, the two new brothers got to know each other better. Emil noticed that Lukas seemed to get uncomfortable whenever they heard police sirens. Lukas noticed that Emil was adorably clingy in his sleep. Often times the two of them would enjoy just talking to each other about their lives before they met; especially at dinner time, or before they went to sleep. 

   "Wait, so you've never had a stuffed animal before?" Lukas asked, honestly astonished.

   "Nope. Never. Was I supposed to?" Emil questioned. 

   "Well it's just...all kids have stuffed animals. It's just a fact of life." Lukas shrugged. 

   "Oops."

    Emil sighed as he looked down at the near-empty soup can in his hands. The two of them had done pretty well with handling their food. They always had two (admittedly small) meals everyday, and whenever their water bottles ran out, they would simply leave them under that one leaky pipe to refill. At first they were worried that the water may not be all too clean, but it tasted fine and they weren't dead yet, so they didn't complain.  However, they were running awfully low on food, and they knew they'd have to get more soon. Still, neither of them were comfortable with the risk of nearly being caught again, and wanted to prolong their food search for as long as possible. 

   Once Emil finished off the rest of his meal, he sighed sadly. He knew that they had very little food left after this, and was a bit dismayed over it. Especially because there wasn't anymore soup. He liked soup. Lukas looked over and saw the disappointed look on Emil's face, and felt that same pang at his heart again. He looked down at the remaining half of his own soup can, then glanced back at the sad boy. He sighed. 

   "Hey, Emil. I'm not really hungry anymore. Want the rest of this?" Lukas offered, holding the can out to the boy.

   "You really mean it?!" Emil asked, excitedly. 

   "Yes, why would I lie to you?"

   Emil squealed and accepted the food.

   "You are the best! Thank you, big brother." Emil smiled up at the older male, before reaching up and kissing his nose. He giggled as he saw him blush slightly, before cozying himself in the older's lap. He finished off the soup and sighed contently. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so pleasantly full. It made him a bit sleepy. 

   "Big brother? I'm tired." Emil said, yawning. 

   "Then sleep." Lukas responded. 

   "Okay. If that's okay with you." Emil eagerly snuggled himself against Lukas's chest and closed his eyes. That was how he slept every night. 

   "You know, you don't need my permission for  _everything_ right?" Lukas sighed. 

   "I know. I just like making sure you're happy." Emil yawned again. 

    _How sweet._ Lukas thought.  _But your happiness is all that matters to me right now, little brother._

   Lukas stroked the boy's soft silver hair fondly, watching him fall asleep. He shivered as a cold breeze blew through, clutching Emil closer to his chest: he didn't want the boy to get cold and wake up. He knew that along with more food, they would need to acquire better clothing as well if they wanted to survive out here. Fall was beginning to get colder, and Emil's clothes were barely holding up as it was. Lukas wasn't worried though. Every time he looked down at his brother's sweet face, he got this feeling like everything would work out somehow. 

* * *

 

   Over the next couple of days, Lukas continued doing what he'd done the night before. That is, he gave his food to his brother. He would spend a while pretending to eat something, strike up a conversation, and once Emil had finished his food, Lukas would offer him his. He knew this wasn't good for him, and he was getting very hungry, but it was worth it to see the way the boy's beautiful round eyes would light up, and to hear him say "Thank you, big brother!" in that adorable little voice of his. Lukas admired everything about the innocent, loving, little child, and a few meals was a small price to pay to see him happy. Still, over time he began to get weaker, and on their tenth night together, Lukas fell asleep and didn't get back up. 

   When Emil woke up and found that his brother was still asleep, he felt a bit concerned. 

   "Hey Lukas? Lukas! Big brother? Wake up!" he shouted, shaking the sleeping boy. "This isn't funny! You're really scaring me! Lukas?"

   At this point, Emil grew frantic, crying and continue to shake the older boy. Suddenly terrified, Emil decided to check his companions pulse. 

    _Oh thank god. He's still alive._ Emil sighed in relied when he confirmed that his brother was, in fact, not dead. But something was still wrong with him. Emil wiped his tears away and sat down, trying to figure out what was wrong so he could fix it. He was confused though. Lukas had seemed fine lately. He didn't look sick, didn't complain about not feeling well. And yet, here they were. Emil had felt that Lukas had seemed a bit unusually skinny...

   That had to be the problem! At first he'd blamed his brother's apparent weight loss simply on the fact that the two of them had had to ration for the past week, so the thought hadn't occurred to him. How could he not have noticed that he himself was still fine, or that Lukas had been claiming not to be hungry for the past few days, despite not eating anything. Emil felt like such an idiot. How could he do this to his precious big brother? 

   Emil shook his head. He wasn't going to get anywhere by sitting around moping about the past. He had to focus on how to help his brother right now. All he had to do was find more food and get it to his brother. It seemed simple enough. Gathering his courage, Emil took off to the street in search of help for his brother. 

   xxx

    Unbeknownst to him, Lukas had just woken up, only to see his little brother running off. 

    _Please...don't leave me._ He thought.  _If this is the end...I don't want to be alone._

He panicked for a few moments, unable to move or to call after Emil. His anxiety was short-lived though, as it didn't take him long to gently cry himself to sleep.

   xxx

   Meanwhile, Emil had found the perfect target to go after. It was another young boy; he looked about Lukas's age with shaggy chin length blonde hair, and carried a basket full of bread and vegetables. Emil took a deep breath. He'd never mugged someone before, especially not such a sweet looking person. However, he didn't really have much of a choice. Reminding himself that this was for the person he loved, he ran up to the other kid and punched him square in the face. The other boy was startled and dropped his basket, which Emil quickly grabbed and shouted "Sorry!" over his shoulder as he ran off. He didn't get far, however, as he was grabbed by a tall teenage boy with insane spikey hair. The teen looked down at him angrily, and dragged him behind a nearby building. 

   Emil trembled fearfully as the teen continued to glare at him angrily. Not long later, a third boy walked up, carrying the smaller one from earlier. This boy also looked around Lukas's age, with short blond hair and glasses. Though he bore a neutral expression, he still seemed more terrifying than the older boy whom was currently standing over him. 

   "Hand over the basket, brat." the teen commanded. 

   "I-I can't." Emil resisted. 

   "That wasn't a request." the teen replied angrily, slapping Emil across the face. 

   "Hey. Don't hurt 'm." the boy with the glasses warned.

   "But he hit Tino!" the teen argued.

   "It's okay Mathias, he's just a kid. Besides, I'm fine." the smallest of the three, Tino, said.  

   The teen, Mathias, growled but backed off. Emil let out a slight sigh of relief, still trembling from his earlier fear. 

   "I'm real sorry about what I did. Honest! But you have to understand, I-I wasn't doing it for me! It's my big brother, I think he might be dying and I  _really_ need to help him. Please please let me go." Emil begged.

   The three older boys stared at him silently for a while, all pondering what he'd just said. 

  "Okay." the one with glasses eventually spoke up.

  "But Berwald!" Mathias protested.

  "Are you sure, Ber?" Tino asked. 

  "If one of us was dying, wouldn't you want help?" Berwald asked them. 

   "Yeah..." they admitted. 

   "Well then it's settled!" Tino exclaimed, hopping down from his friend's arms. "We're gonna help you. Just lead the way!"

   "Thank you. Thank you so much!" Emil said gratefully. 

  Emil quickly began rushing back to where he'd left Lukas, the other three boys following closely. As they ran, Mathias decided to speak up. 

   "Hey uh...sorry for hitting you earlier. I was just mad about Tino, that's all. You seem like a good kid."

   "It's alright." Emil responded. "It was my fault, really."

   Eventually, they reached the alleyway where Emil and Lukas had been living. Mathias was almost taken aback by what he saw. The little boy's brother was a hell of a lot hotter than he'd expected. Even sick and sleeping, and after a week of living outside, Lukas's blond hair still shone, and his pale skin remained flawless. He was almost inhumanly perfect. 

   "Oh my goodness!" it was Tino who spoke up first. "Are you sure he's alive?"

   "He was when I left him..." Emil muttered quietly, tears returning to his eyes. He sprinted to his brother's side, checking for a pulse. He practically sobbed in relief when he discovered that Lukas was still alright.

   "We should take him to our place. There we can actually take care of him." Mathias suggested. The other two nodded. The spikey haired teen walked over and gingerly lifted Lukas up. He smiled reassuringly at Emil, who seemed uncomfortable at the thought of anyone else touching Lukas, before he began to head off to...wherever he was heading off to. Tino and Berwald followed, leaving Emil with little choice but to do the same. 

   The boy simply hoped that his beloved brother would be alright. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this all at four in the fuckin morning. Don't judge me for typos.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was actually supposed to be part of last chapter, but I couldn't finish it fast enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone complains, yes they are all a tid bit out of character. What can you expect? Different ages, different time period, different universe...all small little things that might alter one's personality a bit. But they're all still distinctly themselves. It's not like they're completely different people, or like you could mistake them for anyone else.

   Eventually the group of boys arrived at their destination. It was a small house way on the edge of town, and it seemed pretty torn up. Emil watched curiously as Mathias had to kick his own door in, but remained silent as he followed him inside. The small boy looked around the home, and was rather confused. There weren't a lot of dishes like there were in his house, the furniture seemed all old and gross, and no one seemed to be turning on the lights. 

   "Don't get too excited. This place doesn't have any utilities or anything like that. And if anyone finds out we're living here, we're screwed." Mathias told him. Emil looked at him questioningly. 

   "Well this place doesn't really belong to us. We've just been using it. We figured anything was better than nothing." Tino explained. 

   Emil nodded. He mostly understood what they were talking about. So they didn't get any water or electricity in this place. That wasn't exactly an issue he couldn't deal with. He watched as Mathias carefully set Lukas down on a worn-out couch, and immediately scrambled to sit right next to the sleeping boy. Though he knew his brother probably couldn't hear him, he spoke to him anyways. 

   "Hey, big bro. You're gonna be fine, okay? I made some new friends who promised me they'd help you. Isn't that nice?" Emil giggled softly. "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but if you can there's something I really wanna tell you." The boy shifted so he could lean towards Lukas's ear, and whispered very softly, "I love you."

   Of course, Lukas was still sleeping and could not respond. Tino watched the two of them fondly from across the room, finding their relationship adorable despite not knowing what kind of person Lukas was. Mathias could almost feel his heart breaking as he saw Emil shaking with little tears in his eyes. The boy seemed to be trying so hard not to cry in front of anyone again. 

   "Cry if you have to. We won't judge." Berwald said as he entered the room, carrying a bucket of water. He walked over to the fireplace and hung the bucket from some weird gadget Emil had never seen before, and then proceeded to light a fire under it. The boy stared at it in wonder. 

   "Lucky for us, this place used to be ranch house, so there's a well and a whole lot of other stuff that helps us get around the old fashioned way." Tino enjoyed playing the tour guide. 

   "Hah! Aren't you guys so lucky I found this place? Man, what would you guys be without me?" Mathias laughed. 

   "Yeah yeah, we know. You're the best." Tino chuckled. Berwald just scowled and retrieved the food basket from earlier. As he began turning the pot of boiling water into soup, the other boys continued talking to each other. 

   "Hey, kid. I just realized, you look real familiar from somewhere. It's bugging me. What was your name?" Mathias questioned. 

   "Emil."

   "And that brother of yours. What's his?"

   "His name is Lukas."

   "Emil and Lukas, huh? Why do I feel like I've heard those names before?" Mathias wondered aloud. "Lukas...Lukas...Lukas Bondevik?!" he suddenly exclaimed. Berwalds eyes widened, and Tino jolted and gasped. 

   "I don't understand. How do you know him?" Emil questioned. 

   "Dude. Do you not know? Lukas is a murderer! He killed his own dad, ran off, and then kidnapped some kid at a convenience store. The story was broadcast all over town and printed in every newpaper. WAIT A DAMN MINUTE. If you're Emil Steilsson, the little runaway that got abducted, _then why the hell are you okay with him?_ " Mathias was yelling at this point. He was so confused! What was this sweet little boy doing running around with a sociopath?

   "I know it sounds bad...but he's not a bad person! He's really nice and takes really good care of me!" Emil protested. 

   "Did you know about him? About what he did?" Mathias questioned. 

   "N-No...but I'm sure if Lukas did anything bad it was for a good reason." Emil couldn't bear the thought that other people thought so lowly of his beloved brother. 

   "I want him out of my home. Now. I don't want to be associated with a serial killer, now get the hell out!" Mathias yelled. He wasn't trying to be the bad guy here, but he was very protective of Tino and Berwald and didn't want some sociopath coming in and ruining everything they've worked so hard for. 

   "Calm down, Mathias. We already said we would help, so that's what we'll do." Berwald attmepted to calm his friend. 

   "Calm down? This boy  _killed_ someone. And he's a kidnapper. Aren't you worried?" Mathias was getting frustrated. 

   "If he was truly bad, then someone like Emil wouldn't feel so safe around him. I say we wait til he wakes up and gets better, then ask him for his side of the story. Afterwards, we can decide what to do." Berwald asserted. It seemed like a wise plan, so no one objected. "Besides, I don't like the idea of someone dying in my house."

   Without waiting for any response, he returned to his cooking. Emil looked at Berwald in awe. He admired his unquestioning acceptance and ability to sound so mature despite just being another kid. He wished everyone could be like that. Eventually the tall boy rose and got bowls for everyone, filling each with soup and putting them on the table in the middle of the room. Emil stared at the bowl in front of him in confusion. 

   "Y-You're giving some to me? You don't have to..." he said, blushing and staring at the floor. 

   "Oh, nonsense. You're a growing kid, and we don't mind sharing!" Tino assured him, smiling widely. 

   "T-Thanks." Emil stuttered. He still wasn't used to people being so nice to him. 

   As Emil, Tino, and Mathias were distracted eating their food, it became apparent that Berwald was the only one completely focused on the task at hand. He picked up a bowl of soup and sat down next to Lukas. 

   "Hey. Can you get up?" he asked the sleeping boy, shaking him gently. There was no response. After multiple failed attempts to wake the boy up, Berwald groaned internally. He did not want to do this. 

   Cautiously, Berwald tilted Lukas's head back, and gently opened the boy's mouth. God this was awkward. He carefully spooned in a small amount of soup, before rubbing the boy's throat to make sure everything went down right.  As soon as he became aware that everyone else was staring at him, he quickly became flustered (though it didn't show on his face). 

   "Quit staring at me. I doubt any of you know a better way of going about this." he told them, managing to keep his voice perfectly level. 

   Ignoring the other boys in the room for now, he repeated the previous process over and over until the bowl was completely empty. Afterwards, he picked up his own bowl soup and started eating. Tino took advantage of the fact that Berwald was pointedly avoiding looking at them to sneak up kiss him on the cheek. The larger of the two stiffened, but didn't object.

   "You really are the sweetest person in the world, Ber." Tino told him, hugging onto his arm. Berwald did not reply, for he was too focused trying not to blush.

   When everyone was done eating, they decided to talk to each other while they waited for Lukas to wake up.

   "Okay so, I still can't wrap my head around this. Why are you so fond of this kid?" Mathias questioned Emil.

   "Because he helped me! He lets me stay with him, he shares his food and stuff with me, and he lets me sleep in his lap at night so I don't get cold. Not to mention, something about him just always makes me feel safer. It's like...whenever I'm with him, everything that normally scares me just disappears." the boy explained. Little tears were forming in his eyes again, but he wiped them away before anyone noticed. 

   "Really? That doesn't sound very sociopathic or murder-y to me..." Mathias said. 

   "I told you, he's a good person! I mean, he's not the best at expressing his emotions, and sometimes he's a little too blunt...but there's nothing wrong with him! H-He's like a big brother to me..." Emil couldn't help himself from sniffling slightly. He was very worried about Lukas. 

   "Damn straight I am." a weak voice sounded from the couch. 

   "Lukas!" Emil squealed, practically leaping into his brother's lap and wrapping his arms around his neck. "You're awake! Oh thank god you're finally awake."

   "I am. Now would you mind telling me where we are?" Lukas replied. Emil pouted.

   "You can worry about that later dammit! I'm talking to you right now." the little boy whined. "Do you have any idea how badly you scared me? I thought I was gonna be all alone again. What were you thinking?"

   "I couldn't help it. You always just looked so cute and happy whenever you got something to eat. Anything seemed worth it to see you smiling." Lukas shrugged. 

   "You idiot." for the billionth time that day, Emil found himself fighting back tears. "Don't ever do anything stupid again! You could've died you jerk. And if you died I would never forgive you."

   "You would be mad at me for dying?" Lukas questioned. 

   "Of course I would! Especially if you did before I got to tell you that I love you!" Emil pouted, staring up Lukas with his big beautiful eyes that were now streaming tears. 

   "What was that?" Lukas smirked. He really just wanted to hear it another time.

   Emil took a deep breath and tried to keep himself from screaming at the bastard. "I said, I love you...big brother."

   "I love you too, little brother." Lukas said, smiling ever-so-slightly. "So then, I wasn't dreaming when you told me that earlier?"

   "W-Wuh?" Emil's face reddened. 

   "Earlier, when I was sleeping. I heard you talking to me, and you said you loved me. Did that actually happen?"

   "Maybe." Emil responded, pouting stubbornly. 

   "Cute." Lukas smirked again, pulling him close and snuggling him. 

   Emil had exhausted himself panicking, running, and crying all day, and as soon as he felt himself wrapped in his brother's warm embrace, he began drifting to sleep. The other three boys watched how the brothers were together, and all got that heartwarming feeling inside. The two were simply adorable. 

   "Awwwwwwww~" Tino squealed like a fangirl. He couldn't keep his adoration contained. 

   "Oh. My. God. That was like a scene from a movie!" Mathias wiped away a little tear. 

   Even Berwald had an almost-smile on his face. 

   "Uh..." Lukas stared uncomfortably at the people who were watching him and his brother. "Who even are you?"

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so for some reason, when I hit "save" it translated to "log out and delete everything you just wrote" so I kind of had to rewrite the whole thing when I was nearly done. See now for the first few chapters I was smart and typed it up on Google docs first, but then I got lazy and thought, "meh, what's the worst that could happen?"  
> Apparently this is.


	6. Like A Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fairly short chapter, in which everyone gets to know each other better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got slapped in the face by writer's block but I'll be damned if I let this sit around another week without an update. Oh dear goodness it's three in the morning...  
> Let's do this shit.

   "I'm Mathias," Mathias said "and these guys are Tino and Berwald." The other two nodded in acknowledgement. 

   "Oh. Why am I here?" Lukas questioned. 

   "Well your little bro there tried to mug Tino, but I stopped him and then he started crying about how he needed to help you, so we brought you guys here. I like, totally saved your life by the way." Mathias explained, grinning. 

   "Well technically Ber's the one who—" Tino corrected, but was cut off.

   "Sssshhhhhhh. Let me have my moment." Mathias interrupted. 

   Lukas smiled awkwardly at Berwald, muttering "thanks" and averting his gaze to the floor. Normal people smiled when showing gratitude, right? 

   "If you're done asking questions now, we'd like to ask you a few things too okay?" Mathias asked.

   "Yeah, sure." Lukas said. 

   "Why'd you kill your dad?" Mathias questioned bluntly. 

   "What are you talking about?" Lukas asked cautiously.

   "Don't try and play innocent. We know you killed him, and we also know you robbed a store and kidnapped this weirdo kid." 

   "Well if you must know," Lukas growled "it was an accident. My parents were going to try and ship me off to some loony bin and I wasn't gonna go, so I tried to leave but they wouldn't let me. I panicked and next thing I knew my dad was just...dead."

   "Oh Lukas, I'm so sorry!" Tino exclaimed. "That must have been horrible."

   "So you want me to believe that you just accidentally committed homicide?" Mathias narrowed his eyes. 

   "Whether you choose to believe me or not, I'm still telling the truth." Lukas sighed. 

   "Fine then. What's up with you and the kid anyways? Why'd you abduct him and then decide to be all buddy buddy with him?" Mathias continued his little interrogation. 

   "I never really meant to kidnap anyone. I got caught stealing and needed a way out and he just kinda happened to be there. At first I was just gonna let him go, but he didn't really wanna leave anyways. Besides, he was really cute and I wanted him." Lukas shrugged, as if this were such a normal occurrence. 

   "God you're weird..." Mathias sighed. "So you're not a crazy serial killer?" 

   "No, but if you ever call me that again, I can be." Lukas scoffed. 

   "Well then...I guess if you want, you guys could stay with us." Mathias offered. 

   "Yeah! It could be fun. We could all live together like our own little family." Tino added cheerfully. This kid was way too optimistic...

   Lukas considered this. He wasn't sure he wanted to live in a random home with three strangers. Although winter was fast approaching, and having a place for shelter did sound good. Besides, the boys hadn't given him any reason not to trust them. They did save him, didn't they? 

   "I guess...I guess that would be alright." Lukas agreed.

   "Hooray!" Tino yelled. "I've always wanted to have more friends. This is so exciting!" 

   "Yes, I suppose it is." Lukas sighed. He wished he could feel the other boy's enthusiasm. This really was a pretty exciting moment, but he couldn't feel or show it. "So anyways, what's your guys' story? How'd you end up out here together." 

   "Berwald and I have always been together." Tino said. "Our parents were best friends, so we hung out almost everyday. It wasn't until just a couple years ago that there was an accident at a house party and, well...none of them survived." he explained. He didn't want to go into detail; it was still too soon to think about that night for him. 

   "Oh. That's horrible." Lukas commented.

   "Yeah, it was. Anyways, Ber and I got sent to an orphanage, which wasn't all too bad for a while, until we found out that they planned to split us up." Tino continued. 

   "We already lost everyone else...we didn't want to lose each other too" Berwald remarked. 

   "We started to panic, but that's when we met Mathias!" Tino said. 

   "Haha, yep! I'd been living in that hell hole nearly my whole life, and I was sick of it. So, I decided that the three of us could run away together. And we did!" Mathias picked up where Tino left off. "It was hard at first, but eventually we found this place and started getting used to the whole 'homeless orphan' thing, and now we're all good!" 

   "Are you honestly trying to tell me it was that simple?"  _This guy is seriously too much..._ Lukas rolled his eyes. 

   "Are you honestly telling me you want to hear all the details?" Mathias countered. 

   "Hmm. Good point. If I had to hear your voice for that long, my ears would bleed." Lukas smirked. 

   The two of them went back and forth like that for a while, much to Tino and Berwald's amusement. They didn't stop until Emil reached up and put his hand over Lukas's mouth. He was on the the borderline between waking and sleeping, and all the talking was pushing him more towards waking. 

   "Shhh. No talking. Just napping." he whined. 

   Lukas gently moved the boy's hand away, and covered his ears to try to help block out the sound. It seemed to please him, considering the way he smiled and fell back asleep. This made everyone in the room smile a little, for they'd all already grown rather fond of Emil. 

   "So about Emil...how'd he end up here? I mean, why doesn't he just go back home?" Mathias asked. 

   "Well if I were him, I wouldn't want to either. He hasn't told me much, but basically he's got an asshole dad that always starves him and beats the shit out of him for no reason." Lukas frowned slightly. "When I first met him, half his face was covered in blood from a big gash on his head."

   After that, the room went dead silent. Everyone stared down sadly. They were all thinking the same thing: that such a young, sweet child should never have to go through anything like that. It explained a lot though, about why he seemed so awkward eating before, and why he didn't even mind getting hit earlier. 

   "Poor thing. I guess he never even had anything to lose in the first place..." Tino said sadly. 

   The four boys all watched Emil quietly, feeling depressed. An uncomfortable silence settled in, and this time no one felt like breaking it. After what felt like ages (and was, in earnest, over fifteen minutes), Emil began to stir, and slowly opened his eyes again. 

   "Hey, why'd it get so quiet? I didn't mean I wanted everyone to stop talking entirely." the silver-haired boy yawned. "Why does everyone look sad? Everyone was happy when I fell asleep."

   "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Lukas told him, kissing his head. 

   "Well if it's nothing," Emil giggled, "then would you all stop frowning already? I don't know about you people, but I thought this was supposed to be a happy time! I may have just dreamed it, but I could've sworn someone was talking about this all being super exciting, and how we could be like a family now."

   The other's stared at the boy in shock. The little guy really was full of surprises. 

   "You have an excuse." Emil told Lukas. "But the rest of you should be smiling right now. All the frowning and silence is making me feel weird, and it's making it impossible to sleep. So cheer up!" he demanded. 

   Very quickly the mood in the room lightened, and everyone was smiling.  _Everyone._ It was amazing how easily the kid managed to lift everyone's spirits. 

   "You are absolutely right. Sorry kid." Mathias chuckled. 

   "Yeah! This really is exciting." Tino was also giggling. 

   "Glad that's settled." Emil grinned. "Now, we should play a game!"

   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness. This story is coming out longer than I originally planned. I mean, it's still pretty short...but still! I normally try not to pass 5,000 words. Oops.  
> P.S. I'll probably go back and edit this chapter eventually, but for now you get to live with my typos. I'm sleepy.


	7. Operating Differently

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the boys are a very different kind of family, with very unique personalities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I injured myself at a tournament and figured there was no better time for writing than now, since I'm not allowed to fucking stand up.

   Over the course of the next few weeks, the five boys really did become just like a family. Tino acted as a group mom, keeping the peace and making sure everyone did their fair share of chores. Berwald was the dad, keeping everyone under control. His taciturn nature and commanding presence compelled the other boys to obey him for the most part, making him perfect for the role. Lukas and Mathias were like two brothers that could never get along, but had each other's backs nonetheless. Emil was the precious baby of the family, the one who always kept everyone's spirits up, and whom everyone was very protective of. 

   The varying personalities of the group always kept things interesting. 

   "Aw come on, why won't you share him?" Mathias complained, holding onto Emil's shoulder.

   "I told you," Lukas hissed, pulling Emil into his arms possessively. "he's mine. I claimed him." 

   Emil scowled. He didn't quite appreciate being refered to as property, but he did technically agree that he would belong to Lukas. Besides, he would be lying if he said he didn't delight in the fact that people were fighting over him. The boy loved that he was so badly wanted. Still, he had his pride to worry about right now. 

   "Could you maybe not talk about me like I'm not here?" Emil snapped. 

   "Sorry." Mathias said. Then, sensing an opportunity to irritate Lukas, added "Little brother~" 

   "I told you not to call him that." Lukas glared, his deathly stare sending chills down Mathias's spine. 

   "Freedom of speech, my friend. I can say what I want." the teen taunted. That was a mistake.

   Setting Emil down, Lukas strode forwards and began strangling his foolish friend. 

   "Big brother! Calm down!" Emil called, tugging at Lukas's shirt. 

   Ignoring the boy, Lukas continued choking Mathias, who began sputtering and squirming. 

   "Hey!" a stern voice yelled from across the room. "Knock it off. Now." 

   Lukas glanced at Berwald, who was glaring him darkly, before releasing his grip. He muttered angrily to himself before Emil came over and kissed his cheek, calming him down. Mathias was on his back, on the floor, coughing and gasping for air. 

   "Mathias, stop looking for trouble. And Lukas, please stop trying to kill him." Tino scolded.

   "Whatever, mom." Mathias teased. 

   "Hmph." Lukas grunted unsympatheticically. 

   Emil sighed and wandered over to the couch. He sat down next to Berwald and looked up at him curiously. "How do you do that?" 

   "Do what?" the older boy asked.

   "Get them to listen to you." Emil stated. "Especially Mathias. He's so stubborn. And stupid." 

    Berwald shrugged. He wasn't really sure how he did it; people just listened to him. The truth was, Mathias was just a little bit scared off him, and Lukas held a strong respect for him, so neither of them wanted to upset him. 

   "I guess you're just too awesome. Yeah, that's probably it." Emil concluded, smiling up at him. Berwald sighed and patted his head.

  "Yes, that must be it." Tino chuckled, sitting himself down on Emil's other side and smiling at his best friend. Berwald blushed and looked away. 

   Tino looked down at Emil and frowned. "It came undone again." he sighed, reaching own and tying the cute little bowtie around the boy's neck. "You need to be more careful." 

   "Sorry, Tino. I will." Emil apologized, looking down at the big white bow. 

   It was just a few days ago that he and Lukas had saved up enough money to buy themselves better winter clothes from a flea market. He got himself a sweater and a big coat for whenever it got really cold, but on mild days like today he liked wearing his dress shirt and bowtie. Lukas had even gotten him a cute brown jacket that went with it, so it was his favorite outfit. 

   Emil smiled, remembering how proud he was when he got to buy something for the first time in his life. He always found it funny how him and the other's all had very different ways of trying to save money. 

   Berwald made the most money, in the most moral way, doing small jobs and running errands for various people around town. Lukas and Mathias made about as much, but not in a very nice way. Mathias would distract people, while Lukas would surreptitiously pick their pockets. This operation most certainly did not work if they ever swapped roles. Tino would simply put on his cutest face and ask people directly if they could spare any money, food, or anything else helpful. Emil had a similar method to Tino, except he dressed in his old, torn clothing, and would often pretend to cry. This way, no one had the heart to deny him. 

   Between the five of them, they always had enough to survive on, and occassionaly even a little extra. 

   Emil looked around the room at all his friends and sighed contently. A month ago, he wouldn't even have cared if he died. Now, he had everything in the world he'd ever wanted. To others, living in a rundown home with four strange boys may not seem like good living, but to Emil it was heaven. He had four people who cared about him, and no one yelled at him or hit him. He had a cozy arm chair to sleep on, instead of a hard mat on the floor. He had a whole home he was allowed to walk around in, instead of being stuck in a closet that his parents would sometimes lock for a few days. 

   Yes, his life was perfect right now, and it was about to get even more perfect.

   "Hey guys." Tino said excitedly. "Guess what?"

   "What?" Mathias asked, with equal enthusiasm.

   "It's almost Christmas!" Tino shouted. 

   "Hmm? There's still nearly a full month until then." Lukas pointed out. 

   "Exactly! That means it's finally less than a month away!" Tino countered. 

   "He's like this every year." Berwald explained.

   Tino just grinned, hugging Emil who was eyeing him curiously. 

   "What's so exciting about Christmas?" Emil questioned.

   "What do you mean? It's the most wonderful day ever!" Tino exclaimed. 

   "Not at my house. My dad always throws a stupid party and everyone gets drunk and forgets I'm there." Emil said. 

   "O-Oh..." Tino frowned, but only for a moment. "Well not here! Trust me, I'm going to make sure you have the best Christmas ever!" He promised. 

   "If you say so..."

   And thus, Tino began planning on how to make this Christmas as special as possible. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never actually planned to write this chapter, but the next thing I wanted to write was a christmas chapter and figured I needed a better transition.


	8. Maybe It Doesn't Suck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tino is the king of Christmas. That's all there is to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uuuugh. I so wanted to update this while it was still Christmas but so many unexpected things happened. I got sick and kept falling asleep during the times I usually like writing, I had to go to a family reunion that no on warned me about on Christmas eve, and my sister left sooo much later than she said she would on Christmas. 
> 
> Not that anyone would want to bother reading this on their holiday, but it's the principle of it!

   When Lukas woke up Christmas morning, he was surprised, and a little confused. Tino and Mathias were already awake and moving about, and Berwald was nowhere to be found. There were cheap little Christmas decorations all over the place, and even a few presents under a sorry-looking tree. _When did they have time to set this up?_ He wondered.

   He was about to get up when he registered the weight in his lap. It would seem one member was still sleeping, and Lukas smiled as he ran his fingers through Emil’s hair. The boy looked so peaceful, so cute.

   “Hey, look who's awake!” Mathias shouted, grinning.

   “Hush, you'll wake up Emil.” Tino whispered.

   Lukas quickly looked away, hoping no one noticed his smile. For some reason it embarrassed him whenever someone other than Emil saw him like that. He lifted the boy as gently as possible, standing up and placing him back on the arm chair.

   “So, when did you guys have time to do all this?” Lukas inquired.

   “While you were asleep. We all got up as soon as the sun rose.” Tino answered.

   “Why didn't you wake me up?”

   “Because, we were afraid it would also wake up Emil. We wanted to make sure everything was perfect before he got up. I promised him the best Christmas, and I plan on going through with that.” Tino was practically radiating excitement. He sure had a Christmas obsession.

   Sensing the lack of warmth next to him, Emil woke up with a start.

   “Big brother? Where'd you- whoa.” As soon as he sat up and looked around, Emil saw all the little decorations and the tree, and was mesmerized. He'd never seen anything like it before, not in real life.

   In Lukas’s opinion, it was nothing special: his house was always way more festive than this. For Emil, however, this was like a winter wonderland. He knew none of this was there the night before, and figured they must have set everything up while he slept.

   “Tino… did you do this for me?” He asked incredulously.

   “Of course I did! I couldn't allow you to keep hating Christmas.” the short blond giggled.

   “Hey, I helped too!” Mathias whined. He'd been in the kitchen making hot chocolate for everyone—an absolute must-have for Christmas. He grabbed a mug and walked over, handing it to Emil. “Merry Christmas little guy!” He yelled gleefully.

   Normally Emil would make some comment about him being to loud and annoying, but instead he smiled and accepted the mug.

   “Thanks Mathias.” he said. And, in a rare gesture, he hugged the crazy teen.

   “You're welcome...little brother.” Mathias smirked. He could feel Lukas trying to kill him with his gaze, but was surprised when the other boy made no attempt to punch or strangle him. “Wow, is someone developing a soft spot for me~?”

   “I don't feel like murdering anyone on Christmas, that's all.” Lukas grumbled, resisting the urge to kill the moron on the spot.

   Mathias laughed and grabbed the remaining mugs, passing them to his friends. For a while, everyone was content to drink in silence, until eventually Emil spoke up.

   “Hey. Where's Berwald?” He pouted. No one was quite sure why, by Emil had grown rather attached to the stolid boy.

   “Oh, he went to help a nice lady in nearby neighborhood set up her Christmas lights. I told him that Christmas wasn't the time for working, but he insisted, ‘It's not just work. Who would I be to make an old lady hang up lights by herself?’ He's so sweet.” Tino sighed fondly.

   “Haha! Tino and Berwald sittin’ in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n- ACK!” Mathias’s sing was cut off by Lukas’s hand on his throat.

   “And I was so determined not to try to kill you today.” Lukas sighed. “Honestly, it's like you go out of your way to be annoying.

   After a few more seconds, Lukas released his grip. Emil giggled and got up to walk over where everyone else was standing. Without him even having to ask, Lukas picked him up and held him close.

   “Merry Christmas little brother.” he said, kissing his cheek.

   “Merry Christmas big brother.” Emil responded.

   The four of them spent some time chit-chatting before they heard the front door open. Berwald walked in, setting down a large container and brushing all the snow off of himself. The others all came to the door to greet him, and Tino hugged him and kissed his nose.

   “What's this?” Mathias asked, poking at the container.

   “The lady I was helping made a whole bunch of gingerbread cookies and said I could have them.” Berwald explained.

   “Really? This is so amazing!” Tino practically squealed.

   “I don't get it. Are they different from normal cookies?” Emil asked.

   “Well, yeah. They're Christmas cookies!” Tino said.

   “Oh.” Emil said, nodding.

   The five of them made their way back to the living room, where they opened the container and each grabbed a cookie. Some were shaped like trees, others like snowmen, and others still like normal gingerbread men.

   “Why are they so colorful?” Emil questioned, looking his tree-shaped cookie over suspiciously.

   “That's the frosting. Seriously, have you never decorated gingerbread cookies before?” Mathias asked. Emil just stared at him for a few seconds. “Aaaand here I go asking stupid questions again. Sorry.”

   “It's alright.” Emil giggled slightly. He cautiously took a bite of his cookie, and his face almost immediately lit up. _This is amazing…_ he thought. He quickly devoured the rest of it before sighing happily.

   “So I'm guessing you like it?” Tino chuckled.

   “Mhmm.” Emil nodded. Then, looking up at Berwald hopefully, he asked, “may I please have another one?”

  “Have as many as ya like.” the older boy responded, patting his head.

   Emil tried not to act too excited as he took another one and started munching. Mathias got up and refilled everyone's mugs with cocoa, this time getting a fifth one for Berwald.

   “Thanks.” everyone mumbled.

   As they ate and drank, the five of them starting talking about how they celebrated Christmas in the past. Tino’s and Berwald’s families always celebrated together, having big parties with all their friends. Tino’s family, in particular, liked celebrating every minor holiday like it was a major one, and tended to go overboard when planning for Christmas. For Mathias, the holidays weren't anything too special, although he did love it when charities would have Christmas toy drives and deliver presents to the orphanage in which he stayed. Emil’s Christmas typically consisted of being locked in his closet-room until his parents’ party was over. Lukas would have a small celebration with his mom and dad. Since he didn't have any siblings or cousins, his parents usually went all out buying gifts for him. Boy did he miss them sometimes…

   “Hey Tino. Why are you so obsessed with Christmas?” Emil asked.

   “Well, lots of reasons. It's the most exciting of all the holidays, and everyone's happy and giving gifts, and I love the winter! Mostly though…” Tino started to blush. “It's extremely important to me because that's when I met Berwald. When we were really little, his family moved in next to mine and we decided to invite them to our Christmas party. At first I was too shy to talk to him, but after we spent a little time together we became friends. It's been my favorite holiday ever since.”

   Berwald tried to cover his face with his mug, but it was obvious that he was blushing. Tino’s cheeks were burning scarlet, and Emil was grateful that someone else was embarrassed for a change. As expected, Mathias couldn't resist teasing the two of them, so Berwald smacked him upside the head.

   Emil smiled and climbed into Lukas’s lap. He rarely sat anywhere else.

   “They're ridiculous.” he said.

   “You're right about that.” Lukas answered, wrapping his arms around the small child. “So, how are you enjoying this Christmas so far?”

   “It's amazing.” Emil said. “I'm so happy.”

   “That's perfect.” Lukas said. “That's exactly what I wanted to hear.”

   Lukas gently petted the Emil’s head, admiring the   way the boy tried to press closer against him. Emil reminded him of a small kitten, the way he liked having his head rubbed, and how he always curled up in his lap. If only the boy could purr, his cuteness would be overwhelming.

   “Hey guys? Can we open our presents now?” Mathias asked anxiously, eyeing the gifts under the little tree.

   “No way! It's too early, that would ruin the excitement. Come on, let's play some games instead.” Tino insisted.

   “But...but...okay. I guess that sounds fun anyways.” the teen sighed.

   They tried playing charades, but Lukas and Berwald refused to act anything out and risk looking foolish, and Emil was a terrible guesser. They also tried playing tag, but again, Emil had a bit of an unfair disadvantage. Eventually they decided on something they all felt was fair, and had a snowball war.

   They split into two teams: Tino, Lukas, and Emil, versus Mathias and Berwald. It seemed like the most fair way to split them up at first, but what none of them knew was that whatever team Tino was on automatically had an advantage. In truth, they really should have had everyone versus Tino if they wanted to stand a chance. Not only could that boy aim, he could throw hard. In less than ten minutes, the war was over.

   “That was fun.” Emil giggled, flopping down in the snow.

   “I am the snow king!” Tino screamed. He then proceeded to sprint and cannonball into a mound of snow.

   “You kids are all crazy.” Mathias laughed.

   Berwald sat down by the Tino-shaped hole in the snow and looked around worriedly for his friend. Eventually the smaller blond popped out, laughing and covered in snow. Lukas decided to flop down right on top of his little brother.

   “Hi there.” he said, smirking down at the younger.

   “W-What are you doing?” Emil stuttered and looked away.

   “Loving you.” Lukas chuckled and kissed Emil’s nose.

   “Stop that!” the smaller boy yelled.

   “Stop what? This?” Lukas asked, kissing the boy’s cheeks. “Or this?”

   Emil squirmed as the older boy assaulted his whole face with kisses.

   “Lukaaaaaas! You're embarrassing me!” he whined.

   “How can I be embarrassing you if no one's even looking?” Lukas asked.

   “You...you just are!” Emil complained, trying to push him away.

   “Hey! Whenever you dorks are done cuddling, we're going inside! It's present time!” Mathias called out.

   “W-We weren't cuddling!” Emil stuttered in embarrassment.

   “You're dead.” Lukas ran after Mathias, planning on killing him for interrupting his moment.

   Emil got up and tried to shake the snow off of his clothes. He followed everyone else inside, grumbling to himself and pouting all the way. When he got inside, he found Berwald trying to pry Lukas off of Mathias, and Tino watching in horror. He sighed quietly. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

   “Big brother~” he whined. “I'm cold!”

   Almost immediately, Lukas dropped everything and rushed over to snuggle the adorable little boy.

   “Is that better?” he asked.

   “Yes. Thank you.” Emil giggled, nuzzling against him.

   “...Okay present time!” Mathias shouted, snatching his from under the tree.

   “Don't be disappointed. None of them are anything too special…” Tino said sadly.

   “Just the fact that you took the time to get us anything is really nice.” Mathias assured him, opening up his gift.

   As soon as he saw what was inside his box, Mathias let out an almost girlish squeal. He reached in and pulled out a toy axe, holding it up proudly.

   “This. Is so. Cool!” he screamed. “Thanks Tino!”

   “You're welcome.” Tino smiled. “I remember you said you had one when you were little and you really liked it so…”

   “It's the best, seriously! Man, you're like, Santa or something.” Mathias laughed.

   Tino rolled his eyes and reached under the tree to grab everyone else's gifts before passing them out. Berwald opened his next. His eyes lit up as he pulled out a little stuffed dog.

   “I know it's not the same as a real dog, but I thought it was pretty cool..” Tino explained with a blush.

   “It's perfect.” Berwald told him, hugging him tightly.

   “I-If you say so.” Tino giggled. “Oh, and Lukas? Emil? I don't know you guys very well so I wasn't sure what to get you. Sorry if it's kind of lame.”

   “Don't worry about it.” Emil smiled, opening his up. It was a small licorice dispenser. He curiously pressed the button on it, causing a piece of licorice to come out. He grabbed it and started to nibble on it. “This is amazing.” He gasped.

  Lukas opened his to find a stuffed pink bunny. He would never admit how excited he was about it, but he found it super cute. It was so squishy and had such a cute little face.

   “T-Thanks Tino.” he said. 

   “No problem.” The boy replied.

   “Hey, little brother.” Lukas called.

   “Yeah?” Emil looked at him curiously.

   “Hold on. I got something for you.” Lukas got up and walked over to the couch. He reached underneath it to grab something he'd hidden there, and handed the item to Emil. It was a stuffed puffin with a bow around it's neck.

   “It's so cute! Thank you big brother!” Emil exclaimed, hugging onto him.

   “I couldn't allow you to be able to say you'd never had a stuffed animal before any longer.” Lukas told him, ruffling his hair.

    “I-I tried to get something for you too.” Emil said. “But it isn't this nice.”

   Emil frowned and reached into his pocket, taking a out a small cross clip and handing it over. He refused to look up as he tried to explain his gift.

   “Whenever I asked you what you wanted you said you didn't want anything...a-and I knew your hair kinda gets in your face a lot so I thought, ya know…”

   “Thank you, little brother.” Lukas chuckled. He pushed his hair back and clipped it in place. “So, how does it look?”

   Emil stared up at him for a while, gaping slightly. “You look amazing…” 

   “If you say so.” Lukas said. “Strange boy.” 

   Once again, the two of them found their friends staring at them. It was a little annoying how every time they were together everyone would start watching, but they were used to it by now. 

   “Something interesting?” Lukas asked irritably. 

   “No, you guys are just really cute.” Tino answered.

   “Whatever.” 

   “So Emil, what do you think? Do you like Christmas now?” Tino smiled. 

   “Hmmm...maybe it doesn't suck after all.” Emil giggled. 

   The rest of the day was nothing but fun and games. They all knew they'd have to get back to life as usual eventually, but for now they were content to pretend that everything was just perfect. When night eventually came, they all took up their usual spots: Berwald and Tino on the futon in the corner, Lukas and Emil on the armchair by the table, and Mathias sprawled out on the couch. There was a bedroom in the house, but they really just used it as a dressing/storage room. No one wanted to sleep alone.

   Emil yawned and snuggled up against Lukas, looking up at him and smiling. Lukas couldn’t help adoring him. Goodness he had the most precious little face. Why was everything he did so cute? His eyes were so sparkly, and his lips looked so soft…

    Dammit. Being a preteen was messing with his head. He couldn't possibly be having feelings for his little brother could he? No, of course not. Although it's not like they were actually brothers right? Would it be so wrong if he did?

    “Lukas? Is something bothering you?” Emil asked.

    “Nothing at all. Just go to sleep” Lukas answered.

    “Oh. Okay. Goodnight, big brother.”

    “Goodnight. I love you.”

    “Love you too.”

    Lukas sighed and watched as the younger boy fell asleep. _So, so cute_ … he thought. No, there was no way he had a thing for the child. It was just brotherly affection, that was all. This is a just a phase or something. _I'll get over it._ That was the last thing he thought about before he drifted off to sleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went through and edited it and I literally couldn't even remember writing half of it. I guess that's what happens when you try to write in the middle of family game time XD


	9. One Last Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flash forward three years and the group is still together. Not much has changed, but Lukas becomes concerned when he realizes that Emil isn't acting like himself anymore.

   Lukas frowned as he walked down the sidewalk. Some part of his mind told him not to zone out in public, but he was too lost in thought to register his surroundings. He knew there were probably more important things to worry about, but all he could think about was Emil. Recently, his darling little brother had been acting very strangely. For a while now, Emil has been insisting on sleeping on the floor instead of next to him, refusing to go out with him, and ignoring half of what he says. To make matters worse, for months now he hasn't even been-

   Lukas was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his chest pushing him backwards. He was about to complain when he realized that he’d nearly walked right into the middle of the street. Suddenly he was grateful for the hand holding him back. 

    The owner of said hand, his companion, Berwald, looked down at him in concern. The two of them had an odd friendship. They rarely spoke to each other, and today was one of the few times they were ever alone together, yet they still felt fairly close. They had a tacit understanding of each other, and the two of them usually got along just fine. 

  “You okay?” Berwald asked. 

“Yeah. Actually...no” Lukas admitted as they crossed the street. “Did I do something to make Emil hate me?”

   “Hmm? Why do ya think that?”  the taller male questioned. 

   “He won't sleep with me, he won't listen to me, and he wouldn't even go to stupid store with me today.” Lukas groaned miserably.  A bit earlier that morning, when he'd asked Emil to go to the store with him, the boy could not have said ‘no’ faster. Then, after Lukas complained about not wanting to go alone, the room went silent until eventually Berwald decided to just go with him before things got more awkward.

   “And on top of all that,” Lukas stared down dejectedly. “he won't even call me ‘big brother’ anymore.”

   Berwald hummed and mulled the situation over. It certainly wasn't like Emil to disappoint his brother.. Although, he had noticed that the boy had been acting weird ever since he became a teenager.

  “Maybe it’s just a rebellious phase.” He shrugged.

  “Hmm? Do you really think that's possible?” Lukas asked.

  “He is thirteen now. It's hard to know what he's thinking.” Berwald said. “It's nothing to get worked up over…”

  “Yeah, that's true.” Lukas sighed. “I just….I don't understand why it bothers me so much. It's hard to explain, but whenever I'm away from him my stomach feels twisted. And whenever he ignores me it feels like my heart is aching. Do you think I'm getting sick?” he asked. 

  Berwald was so shocked he nearly bust out laughing. Nearly, but that would be embarrassing. He always knew that Lukas had a hard time understanding his feelings, but this was just too funny.  _ He actually thinks this is some sort of cold?  _ Berwald thought. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards slightly.

  “What? What's so amusing about this?” Lukas asked, punching him in the arm. 

  “The only kind of sick you are, is lovesick.” Berwald said. 

  “I'm...what?”

* * *

 

 While that was going on, Emil was at home trying to figure out the right way to ask Tino about a problem he's been having. He'd never have another perfect chance like this. Lukas and Berwald had taken off to the store, and Mathias was out with his boyfriend (an interesting dutch guy he met at work), so that left Emil and Tino home alone. 

  Emil sat down at the kitchen table, clutching his puffin plush and thinking about how weird his feelings have been as of late. Ever since the day he’d felt a strange rush of relief when Mathias had announced that “the hot guy from work” had gotten him over his not-so-secret crush on Lukas, Emil had begun to question his feelings for his brother. 

  “What are you thinking about, Emil?” Tino smiled down at him. 

  “N-Nothing really. Just remembering s-stuff…” Emil stammered, face heating up. Why was he so easily flustered?

  “Okay.” Tino chuckled. “If you're not doing anything, would you mind cleaning the kitchen counters?”

  “Huh? Oh, o-of course.” Emil nodded, doing as he was asked. “Hey Tino?” he asked softly, nervous about what he was going to say. 

  “What is it? Is something wrong?” Tino asked.

  “Nothing's wrong I just…” Emil swallowed thickly. It was now or never. “How did you work up the courage to ask Berwald out?” 

  Tino smiled at him fondly. He could guess what this was about.

  “Planning on asking someone out~?” He teased lightly. 

  “No! Well...maybe. Honestly Tino, how did you do it? Weren't you afraid you'd been friends for too long and it would be weird? O-Or that he'd think of you as too much like family to feel the same way?” Emil questioned nervously. 

  “Of course I was afraid. Emil, I'd been crushing on him for over a year before I worked up the nerve to tell him. And even then I couldn't stop stuttering.” Tino said. “But it was a chance I had to take. And it’s a good thing I did, now isnt it?”

  “But...but what if he'd said no?” the younger trembled slightly.

  “Then I would've been heartbroken, and things would've become incredibly awkward between us. But what does that matter? He said yes, right? So it was worth it.” Tino soothed.

  “But the person I like...they're so hard to read! It's so difficult to know what they're feeling all the time, how can I tell if they like me? I mean, I know they love me...but what if it's not in the way I love them? What if I tell them how I feel and they think it's gross and they hate me? Oh Tino, if I ever upset them I don't think I'll be able to live with myself!” Emil cried in frustration, banging his head against the counter. 

  “Emil…” Tino started, pulling the boy into an embrace. “Lukas is never going to hate you. I don't think there's a single thing in this world he cares about half as much as he cares about you.”

  Emil’s face immediately flushed a bright scarlet, and he began shaking and stuttering uncontrollably. 

   “W-W-What?! W-Who s-said anything about L-Lukas? I-I wasn't talking about—”

   “I'm gonna stop you right there. You couldn't be more obvious if you wrote his name all over you face.” Tino laughed. 

   “T-That bad?” Emil was too embarrassed to even look up. 

   “Yes, that bad. Though you've been awfully cold towards him lately.” Tino said.

   “I have?” Emil asked.

   “Cold as ice.” Tino nodded. “Couldn't you tell how sad he's been at night without you?” 

   “I didn't...I didn't mean to make him sad. I've just been dreaming about him a lot lately, and I'm afraid that if I sleep next to him I'll accidentally talk in my sleep and he'll hear me…” Emil confessed.

   “How cute. Well, how come you've been ignoring him so much when he's talking to you?” Tino inquired.

   “That's not on purpose either, I promise! The thing is...everytime he talks I end up thinking about how much I love his voice, and then I start looking at him, and I always get so lost in his eyes...” Emil groaned. “I can't focus around him! It's driving me crazy, and I keep thinking it would be so much easier if I just told him how I felt but…”

  “But what?”

  “I'm terrified. If he doesn't feel the same way I do...I don't think I could handle it.” Emil admitted sadly. 

  “The longer you wait, the harder it’ll get.” Tino told him.

  “I know but...how am I just supposed to bring it up?”

  “Here’s what we’re going to do. As soon as Lukas and Berwald get back, I’ll make up an excuse for Ber and I to leave you two alone. Once it’s just the two of you, you’ll just come right out and say it. Can you do that?” Tino said.

  “Y-Yes” Emil confirmed.

  “Good, they should be back any minute now.”

* * *

 

  “So, we’re clear on the plan?” Berwald asked, turning to look at Lukas.

  They were less than a block away from home now, and the shorter of the two was clearly uncomfortable with what they were about to do.

  “Yes. As soon as you make up an excuse for you and Tino to leave, I’ll tell Emil that I…” Lukas took a deep breath, having a hard time forcing himself to say such embarrassing words. “I’ll tell him I’m in love with him. Simple.”

  As soon as they arrived home, they spotted their targets cleaning the kitchen. Once they approached, Tino rushed up to Berwald and asked him if they could talk outside. Lukas and Berwald exchanged glances, both instantly aware that something was up. Tino wasn’t a very subtle person. 

  Still, Berwald followed his unusually jumpy boyfriend outside. As soon as they left the house and began talking, they learned of each other’s plans. Tino thought it was the cutest thing that they thought so much alike, and spoke excitedly about how perfect they were together. Berwald smiled and agreed.

  Meanwhile, back in the house, Lukas approached a very anxious-looking Emil. The boy was glaring at the floor and muttering to himself, and his face was even redder than it normally got when he was embarrassed. Lukas cleared his throat to get the Emil’s attention, which caused the boy to just about jump out of his skin.

  “I need to tell you something.” They both said at the same time. Lukas managed to keep a calm tone, while Emil’s voice was squeaky and panicked. 

  “O-Oh, you go first.” they both stammered awkwardly. 

  “No, it’s okay you can. No you! Fine then I’ll go. Make up your mind!” this debacle went on for a while, until Lukas got frustrated and clamped his hand over Emil’s mouth.

  “I’ll speak first then, okay?” Lukas sighed exasperatedly. Emil nodded. “I guess it’s better this way anyways. Now I can be sure you’ll stay quiet until I’m done talking.”

  Lukas paused, unsure of how to continue on. He’d never had to do anything like this before, and he didn’t want to screw it up.

  “There isn’t an easy way to say this, so I’ll just start by saying I love you.” he managed to get out. 

  Emil’s eyes widened, and he would have responded had Lukas not kept his hand firmly planted over his mouth. 

  “I know I’ve said that many times in the past but this time is different. I’m not entirely sure when or why I started to feel this way, but it has been pointed out to me that I don’t love you the way I thought I did.” Lukas continued. He could tell that Emil was getting confused, and decided to try and hurry this up. “What I’m trying to get across is...I can’t believe I’m saying this...I’m in love with you. Totally, and completely in love with you. I’ve felt this way for a very long time but I didn’t know what it was until today.”

  Emil stared wide-eyed at the older male. He wasn’t prepared for this! Tino hadn’t told him how to deal with  _ receiving  _ a confession. He was supposed be the one confessing and Lukas was supposed to be stuck dealing with how to respond. As soon as Lukas removed his hand from the boy’s mouth, Emil began to panic.

  “You can speak now.” Lukas said. 

  “L-Lukas. I-I...this is... darn it you jerk you ruined it!” Emil whined, pouting.

  “What? What is that supposed to mean?!”

  “Asshole! I’ve been waiting for forever for you to come home so I could talk to you! I had this whole long thing planned out on how I was gonna tell you how sorry I am for avoiding you, and how I wasn’t trying to be so mean lately, and then I was gonna beg for you to forgive me and tell you that..that…” Emil yelled frantically, before sighed and calming down. “I love you too.”

  Lukas stared at him in disbelief.

  “I mean, I’m  _ in love  _ with you too. But then you had to go and say it first and ruin everything.” Emil concluded. 

  “Sorry, little brother.” Lukas chuckled, admiring how cute the boy looked right now. 

  “Stop calling me that! It would be weird to think of a brother this way.” Emil complained. “And you’re never sorry, jerk.”

  “Just because I can’t feel it doesn’t mean I don’t know it’s the right thing to say.”

  “Right, sorry. It’s just hard remembering that-”

  “I think I’ll kiss you now.” Lukas suddenly interrupted. 

  “W-Wuh?!?” Emil exclaimed.

  “You look cute right now. It makes me feel like kissing you. Just thought you deserved a warning first.”

  “W-Wait a minute, you can’t just- mmph!” 

  Before Emil could properly finish his complaint, Lukas leaned in and kissed him. It was a very short, light kiss, but both of them agreed that it was the best thing they’d ever felt.

  “I can’t just what now?” Lukas mocked. 

  “Just shut up and kiss me again.”

  “Gladly.” Lukas smirked, kissing the smaller male. This one was deeper, and lasted longer, making them both reluctant to pull away. 

  “Hey, Emil. Can you do me a favor?” Lukas asked once they finally parted.

  “Anything you want.” Emil nodded. 

  “Can you call me ‘big brother’ one last time? Before it gets weird?”

  Emil shook his head and laughed. “It already  _ is  _ weird.”

  Lukas looked down at him sadly. 

  “Oh alright.” Emil sighed. “Big brother.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Whatever.”

* * *

 

  At this point, Berwald and Tino, who’d been watching through the kitchen window, were trying to keep their inner fangirls contained. 

  “We did that!” Tino exclaimed happily. “Those two totally owe us.”

  Berwald laughed softly and nodded. 

  “We really are great together, don’t you think?” Tino asked.

  “Of course.” Berwald responded, kissing him.

  “How long do you suppose we should keep waiting out here?” Tino questioned before kissing back. 

  Berwald shrugged. They’d probably be stuck there a while.


	10. Art Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little out of hand when Lukas tries to teach Emil to draw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I've been so slow with updating I feel so bad. Fuckin school man. It breaks you XD

   Emil hurriedly walked home from what he liked to call school. Since he couldn't go to an actual school, he liked to walk to the library and spend hours researching on the computer and reading books. He tried to learn based off of what the standards for the grade we would have been in were, but he often found himself skipping over the math lessons. Emil much preferred literature and history, which were actually interesting. 

  As much as he loved learning, Emil was anxious to get home so he could spend time with his new boyfriend. It was a weekday, so Berwald, Tino, and Mathias were all at work, leaving Emil home alone with Lukas. When he returned home, he found Lukas the same way he always did, doing some chore or another. 

  Since neither of them had jobs like the other three, they felt obligated to do all the chores so that they wouldn't just be a couple of freeloaders. Emil made his way over to Lukas, who was doing dishes, and hugged him from behind. 

  “Hi.” he greeted, nuzzling Lukas’s back. 

  “Hey.” Lukas responded, turning his head back for moment to kiss the small teen’s forehead. “Have fun today?” 

  “Definitely. I found a book on Vikings. That was fun to read.” Emil smiled. “They were so strong and badass, but I also got the impression that they may have been horrible people.” 

  “I don't think they were that bad. I feel that if you're strong enough to take something, it rightfully belongs to you.” Lukas stated. Emil couldn't help giggling. 

  “Of course you would say that.” Emil shook his head. 

  Lukas finished with the dishes—which, by the way, was a difficult task when you don't have running water—and turned around to face Emil. He leaned down to kiss him, and smiled slightly when the boy tried to get on his tiptoes to make it easier. 

  “You are seriously too short.” Lukas remarked before kissing him again. 

  “I'm younger than you, what did you expect?” Emil pouted, just wanting to continue kissing. 

  “No no, when I was your age I was definitely taller than you are.” Lukas teased. 

  “Oh shut up.” Emil groaned. He reached up and desperately tried to retrieve another kiss, but was too short. 

  Lukas watched the adorable struggle for a few more seconds before giving in and leaning down to press his lips against the younger’s. He wrapped his arms tightly around the boy’s waist, pulling him close. Emil sighed contently, and they spent some time like this; standing in the kitchen exchanging kisses. 

  “So, Emil, what do you want to do today?” Lukas inquired when they eventually broke apart. 

  “Actually, I was wondering if maybe you could teach me how to draw.” the boy requested shyly. 

  Not long ago, the group had been playing pictionary together and they found out that Lukas was a damn good artist. Emil was jealous. He'd never drawn much of anything before, so his art skills were more than a little lacking. 

  “Of course.” Lukas smirked. “You are pretty terrible at it. You could use some help.” 

  “Hey! I'm not that bad!” Emil protested. 

  “Well then I guess you don't need my help~”

  “Wait, no. Please Lukas, help me.” 

  “Oh alright.” Lukas agreed, grabbing Emil’s hand. “Come with me.” 

  Lukas led Emil into the living room and sat him down in front of the table. He walked over to the closet and got out some old scratch paper and a couple of pencils and brought them over. 

  “Okay. First I just want you to draw anything you feel like. Hopefully now that you aren't being timed, you won't be as awful as in pictionary.” Lukas instructed.

  “Stop rubbing it in!” Emil shouted, punching his jerk of a boyfriend in the arm. Still, he did as he was told, and began drawing. 

  After a few minutes, Emil finished his drawing. Lukas looked at the picture, and immediately felt the urge to slam his head into the table. What was that even a picture of? An animal? A table? Whatever it was, it was pathetic. 

  “Emil...this may just be the hardest task I have ever accepted in my life.” Lukas groaned. 

  “Sorry…” Emil apologized, blushing and looking away. 

  “It's fine. I said I'd help you and I will.” Lukas assured him. 

  For the next few hours, the two of them worked on improving Emil’s art skills. Fortunately, though he may have started off bad, Emil was a surprisingly quick learner. Unlike Lukas, Emil developed more of a cartoonish art style than a realistic one, but that wasn't to say it was particularly bad. It actually suited him. 

   Lukas sat back and watched Emil doodle, proud of his accomplishment. He reached out and rubbed Emil’s back, causing the boy to blush—though his lack of complaint was evidence that he liked it. After a few minutes, he slipped his hand under Emil’s shirt and began rubbing his side. Emil shivered and tensed slightly, before sighing and returning to his task. This gave Lukas an evil idea.

  “Say, Emil? Are you ticklish?” Lukas asked.

  “N-Not particularly. Why?” Emil responded nervously. 

  “No real reason. I was just thinking, your picture looks pretty good. It would be a shame if anything happened.” Lukas stated. 

  “What are you saying?” Emil asked, turning his head to glare at the older teen. He cautiously set his pencil down, not wanting anything to happen to his first decent picture. 

  It was a good thing he did, since not even one second later Lukas began tickling him relentlessly. Emil tried to squirm away, but to no avail. 

  “L-Lukas! Cut it—HAH—out dammit!” Emil managed to gasp out between laughs. 

  “No thanks.” was the reply.

  “T-this isn't—HAHAHA—funny you jerk!” The poor boy cried out.

  “Then why are you laughing?” Lukas teased. 

  Emil tried to shove his boyfriend away, but instead found himself pinned down on the couch. This was miserable: tickling was the worst form of torture. Lukas, on the other hand, was enjoying this greatly. He absolutely adored the younger boy’s laugh, as well as his red face, and how his voice went high when he tried to yell. 

  Emil felt a rush of relief when he heard the front door open. Finally, someone was here to save him! Berwald and Tino were in the middle of what seemed like a pleasant conversation when they walked in, until they noticed Emil’s situation. 

 “Lukas, leave the poor boy alone.” Berwald sighed. 

 Tino couldn't help laughing at the sight of the two boys on the couch. They could seriously be so immature sometimes.

 Lukas reluctantly released his squirming victim, who immediately rolled off of the couch and fell on the floor. Emil gasped and panted, trying to calm back down. His stomach hurt and his cheeks burned from laughing, and he had little tears in his eyes.

  “What the hell was that for?!” Emil whined.

  “It seemed like fun.” Lukas shrugged. “...you're cute when you're mad.” 

  Emil growled and began attacking the blond with a pillow, while Tino and Berwald watched in amusement. Emil stood on the couch to get a better angle from which to attack his boyfriend. Lukas shielded his face, while continuing to tease and taunt the silver haired teen. 

  “If you tickle me like that, I will personally destroy you.” Tino chuckled, giving Berwald a kiss. 

  “I can say the same to you.” the taller teen responded, kissing him back.

  Not long later, Mathias came home to find one couple engaged in an aggressive pillow fight, and another making out in the corner. He stared for a few seconds, trying to process what he was looking at, before speaking up.

  “What on earth is going on here?” He questioned. 

  Everyone paused what they were doing, looking down and blushing. Emil and Lukas dropped their pillows, while Tino and Berwald stepped away from each other. 

  “He attacked me! I was just getting revenge.” Emil said. 

  “I did no such thing.” Lukas defended.

  “Yes you did!”

  “Did not.” 

  “Why you—mmph!” 

  The quarreling teens were silenced by Mathias grabbing their heads and forcing their lips together. 

  “Haha! I'm totally an awesome peace maker. I mean seriously, what a stupid argument. You're lucky you have me to fix things, am I right?” Mathias laughed cheerily. 

  Of course, Lukas and Emil were not amused, and gave him the death glare. They both picked up their pillows and raised them threateningly, causing Mathias to back away slowly. 

  “Hey now, no need to be hostile. All I did was help!” Mathias shouted frantically. 

  Sadly, it was too late for words to save him, and he was surrounded by a couple of angry teens beating him with their pillows. Tino smiled and shook his head. He wondered if Mathias would ever learn his lesson about messing with those two. 

  “They never change, do they?” he asked.

  “Nope.” Berwald answered.

  “Should we help him?” 

  “Nope.” 

  Then, the two of them returned to their previous engagement, leaving Mathias to fend for himself. Eventually Lukas and Emil grew tired and dropped their plushy weapons. 

   “That was fun.” Emil said with a smile. Lukas nodded in agreement.

  “Glad to know my pain brings you joy.” Mathias laughed. 

  “It really does though.” Lukas said, smacking him upside the head.

  “Ow! Hey, that actually hurt.” Mathias whined. 

  “That was the point.” Lukas said. 

  Emil sighed and walked to the kitchen, leaving them to their family argument. He would never understand those two. They were best friends, but he could swear they looked like they hated each other. What a couple of weirdos. 

  Emil made himself busy making dinner for everyone, figuring they'd be hungry after a long day at work. Of course, his cooking skills were only moderately better than his art skills, and he only knew how to make the most basic things. Because of this, tonight's dinner consisted of macaroni and sausages. Classy. 

   The boy also noticed that the sun had gotten considerably lower, and began lighting the candles placed throughout the house. Emil smiled at his work, feeling proud to be helpful, and returned to the kitchen. He got out plates for everyone, then called them over. Unfortunately, they were all too occupied to notice him, which irritated him to no end. 

  “Lukas! Mathias! Get your butts in here right now!” He hollered.

  This time, the two of them heard him, and paused their fighting to come into the kitchen. Two down, two to go. 

  “Berwald! Tino! Dinner’s ready!” Emil called out. There was no response. “Hey! Guys! Get in here!!”

  Still no response. 

  “OI! WOULD YOU TWO QUIT MAKING OUT AND GET OVER HERE ALREADY! YOU KNOW I HATE BEING IGNORED DAMMIT!!” Emil screamed out, hurting his throat in the process. 

  That got their attention. Tino and Berwald pulled away from each other, blushing furiously. 

  “Sorry Emil!” Tino apologized.

  Berwald was too embarrassed to look up. The two of them made their way into the kitchen, and within a few minutes everyone had fixed themselves a plate. 

  “Thanks for cooking, little guy.” Mathias said, ruffling Emil’s hair. 

  “You're welcome. And don't touch me.” Emil said. He didn't actually mind the older teen’s shows of affection, but it had become a habit to act angry towards him. 

  Emil had developed an undeserved hatred towards Mathias back when they both had a crush on the same person. Even though that was no longer the case, Emil still acted a bit coldly towards the older teen out of habit. He felt guilty about his behavior, and was making an honest effort to be nicer, but Mathias’s overbearing personality made it difficult. 

  After dinner, the teens did what they did every night, and sat down in a circle in the living room. They went around the circle, each saying what they did that day while they were apart from each other. Emil always eagerly shared what he'd learned at the library, Tino always talked about how fun his job was, and Mathias always bragged about his boyfriend. Lukas and Berwald scarcely said anything, as they both found their days boring and uninteresting.

  Finally, after blowing out all the candles, they all settled down in their regular sleeping positions. Emil yawned as he sat down in Lukas’s lap, ready to fall asleep. 

  “We don't fit on this thing as well as we used to.” Lukas complained. 

  “Hmm? I guess you're right.” Emil nodded. The small armchair didn't bother him. Anything was better than a closet floor. 

  “Hey, you guys wanna switch spots?” Mathias offered. 

  “Really?” Emil asked, surprised by the offer.

  “Yeah, why not? It's not really fair that I should have all this space to myself while you two are crammed on a tiny chair.” Mathias said. He stood up and walked over to armchair. 

  “Thank you.” Emil said, getting up and hugging him. 

  “Yeah, thanks.” Lukas nodded before possessively pulling Emil away from Mathias. 

  Mathias just laughed and shook his head, cozying up on the chair. Lukas lay down on the couch, and Emil laid next to him. Lukas frowned, however, when he realized how close the smaller teen was to the edge.

  “Little brother, you're going to fall off.” He said.

  “I thought we agreed you wouldn't call me that anymore.” Emil said, rolling his eyes. “And I'm fine.” 

  “No you aren't. It's not safe.” Lukas insisted. Before Emil could protest, Lukas pulled him so that he lay face down on top of the blond. “There. Much better.”

  Lukas wrapped his arms around Emil’s waist securely before closing his eyes. Emil sighed and hugged onto him, using his chest as a pillow. 

_ I can get used to this.  _ They both thought as they fell asleep in each other’s arms. 

  Mathias smiled, happy to be able to make them happy. He yawned and curled up in the chair, finding it surprisingly comfortable. He, too, fell asleep easily, eagerly awaiting the next new day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Valentine's Day tip: if you forget Valentine's Day, and it is an important holiday to your boyfriend/girlfriend/bestfriend, just get them something and give it to them the next day and say "HAPPY LUPERCALIA" instead. Because Lupercalia was kind of like the original Valentine's Day, so you can just tell them "I only celebrate the original. B)" and play it off like this was your evil plan all along and you didn't forget anything.  
> This may or may not be what I did this year.


	11. I Lied

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author is a horrible, terrible, liar. I said I wanted everything to be happy from now on BUT NO. I DID THIS INSTEAD. For some reason I couldn't think of anything cute or happy and my brain decided, "hey, you know what would be sad and upsetting? WRITING ABOUT SOMETHING HORRIBLE HAPPENING TO YOUR POOR INNOCENT LITTLE BABY."

_  “Don't wander off, got it?”  _

  Emil scowled as he followed Lukas down the aisles of the store, those words echoing in his head. He wasn't a child dammit, he didn't need to be told such stupid things. In fact, he wasn't planning on wandering off alone anyways until Lukas put the idea in his head! Feeling defiant, Emil turned down a different aisle while his boyfriend wasn't looking, and started walking around the store alone. 

   “Well would you look at that. I never thought I'd see your ugly face again.” a man’s voice sounded nearby. A very familiar voice at that. 

  Emil swallowed thickly before turning towards the man.

  “H-Hi Dad.” he stammered nervously, slowly trying to back away. 

  “Why so nervous? I thought you'd be happy to see your dear ol’ dad after all this time.” his father smiled down at him. 

  “Of course.” Emil tried to smile. “Well, I'm busy so I should probably go now.” 

  Emil turned and tried to walk away quickly. Of course, he should've known he couldn't get away that easily. His dad managed to grab him and pull him back, holding him tightly in place. 

  “Hey! Let go of me!” Emil yelled. 

  “Hush. You don't wanna make a scene.” his dad told him. 

  “I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I want to do! Then maybe someone will get you the hell away fro—” Emil was cut off by his dad’s hand over his mouth.

  “Let's say you did make a scene. Someone called security, and things got a little out of hand.” his dad said, tightening his grip painfully. “If the cops came here to get me off of you, do you think your friend could get out of here before they found him, too.”

  Emil pushed his hand away so he could speak. 

  “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  “Your little blond friend you came in with. He sure looks real different now than a few years back, but I'm sure the police will be able to identify a known criminal.” the man smirked. 

  “Leave him out of this. He's done nothing to you.” Emil began to panic. 

  “Don't worry. I'm not interested in that fucker. As long as you come with me, he'll be fine.” Emil's father had a sick smile, and the boy was feeling more terrified by the second. 

  “All you ever did was wish you could get rid of me. Why do you want me back now?” Emil questioned, trying to stay calm. 

  “You could say things have fallen apart a bit back home, and I think ya might be able to fix it.” was the answer. “No more questions. Either come with me now or I will not hesitate to beat you right here in this store.” 

   Emil swallowed thickly before nodding. He reluctantly followed his dad out of the store, his heart sinking into his stomach. The longer they walked, the more the fear of his situation set in. What if his parents kept him locked in his room? Would he be stuck there forever? What if he never got to see his friends again? 

   Emil began to feel nauseous, and his heart was beating so hard he felt it might burst. As soon as he caught a glimpse of his old home, Emil’s fear of going back there began to override all his other thoughts and feelings, and he tried to run away. Unfortunately, his dad was a lot larger, and a lot faster than him, and he was quickly recaptured. 

  “Listen, kid. You caught me off guard the first time you ran off, but you’re not getting away again.” his dad growled, hitting him in the back to the head. 

  “Yes sir…” Emil muttered miserably. 

  Emil could practically feel his hopes dying as he was led into his old home. He was stunned when he saw what a wreck the place was. It looked like ten parties worth of mess just piled around. A sudden sharp pain sent him stumbling forwards, and he had to grab onto a chair to keep from falling. 

  “Quit staring like that, brat. It’s your damn fault this place got this bad in the first place.” his dad snapped at him.

  “I forgot you had no concept of decent grammar.” Emil scoffed. “And what, are you incapable of cleaning up after yourself?”

  Emil knew he shouldn’t have opened his mouth, but the pain that shot through his gut when he was kicked in the stomach reminded him of what an awful idea it truly was. He crashed to ground, gasping to regain his breath. 

   “It also seems that you’ve forgotten the position you’re in right now.” his father glared down at him before stomping on his chest. 

  Emil winced and coughed. He felt like he might cry, but wasn’t sure why.  _ I was used to this at some point. _ He thought.  _ I should be able to handle this...but I can’t.  _

  “Hey! What the hell is making all that racket?” a voice yelled from somewhere behind him. Emil titled his head back to see his mother standing in the doorway. She stared down at him for a while, before turning her glare on her husband. “Why the hell would you bring that piece of shit back here? We were happy without him!”

  “Happy? I haven’t seen you happy in over a year. All ya do is bitch about how bored you are and then do nothing about it!” the man yelled back. 

  “How can I get anything done when this place is a mess!” 

  “I don’t know. Have you tried maybe cleaning it?”

  Emil was fairly astonished as he listened to his parents fight. For all the times they complained about him ruining their lives, it sure seemed like they were useless without him. He almost laughed when he realized why. Not only did the house become a mess without him around to clean it, but his parents started taking all their anger out on each other when they couldn’t on him anymore.  _ So, that’s all I am to them? A servant and a punching bag? How lovely. _

  Emil was startled when he was pulled back up to his feet. His mother didn’t say anything as she dragged him to his old room, and threw him in. Before he could say anything, the door slammed in his face, and he heard it lock. He could hear his parents start fighting on the other side.

   As soon as he that he was locked in, Emil began panicking again. All his previous fears came rushing back, and he started feeling claustrophobic. After a few minutes of pacing back and forth, he screamed and pounded on the door. 

  “Please don’t leave me in here! Please! I don’t care what else you do to me just please let me out!” he cried. He couldn’t take this. He couldn’t stand not knowing how long he’d be stuck in there. Maybe a few hours, maybe a few days. Maybe forever. He didn’t know, and not knowing terrified him more than anything else. 

   Emil kept screaming until he felt light-headed, but his parents seemed determined to ignore him. Eventually, he gave up on any hopes of getting out, and he crumbled to ground in defeat. Against his will, he started crying uncontrollably, until he grew too exhausted to even move. 

   “I’m sorry, Lukas.” he whispered. “I guess I really should listen to you more often.”

   Emil laughed softly. All this because he was too stubborn to follow a simple order. How idiotic. He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping that sleep might bring a temporary respite. Some part of him felt that things were only going to get worse from here on out, and the thought weighed heavy on his mind, haunting him in his dreams.


	12. HALP

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No but really, this isn't even part of the real story, I just couldn't resist doing it.

   "So, what do you want me to do with him?" 

    "We could just leave him in there."

    "Are ya fuckin stupid, woman? What're we supposed to do if he dies?"

    "Celebrate." 

    "And get arrested for murder!" 

    "Throw him back out then."

   "But that's what he wants! Why can't we just keep 'im to work around the house?"

    "Then we'd havta to feed him and shit!" 

    "Do you have a better idea?" 

    Emil's parents were interrupted from their argument about what to do with him now that he was back when someone knocked on the door. They were surprised to see a teenager ((probably?)) that they'd never seen before at their door. 

    The young, very attractive girl ((or boy??)) known only as "yells" came up and punched both their faces. 

    "THAT'S FOR HURTING MY POOR BABY!" they screamed, before storming away. Had it not been a hinderence to the plot of the story, they probably would have taken Emil with them too.

     Both parents shouted in pain. The mother held her soon-to-be-black eye, and the father held his bleeding nose. 

    "What the fuck was that?" the man groaned. His nose was definitely broken now. 

    Before the woman could answer, another total cutie by the name of "asakikus" walked in and decked them both. This time they went crashing to the ground, temporarily immobilized by pain. 

   "THAT'S FOR EM BOY!" the super hot youth yelled, before running out. They, too, would have brought Emil with them had such a feat been possible. 

   "Why is this happening?" Emil's mother whined, crying out in agony.

   "I dunno. Kids are crazy these days." The father groaned, using his shirt to stop the bleeding from his face.

   Neither parent could bear the pain, and they both cried like stupid little girls because they're pussies. That'll teach them to be assholes.


	13. The Search Begins

   It didn't take Lukas long to realize that something wasn't right. He knew that Emil would probably pout and follow along quietly, but this was  _too_ quiet. After a few minutes without hearing so much as a sigh, Lukas turned around to find that Emil wasn't behind him. 

   "Emil? Emil where did you go?" he called out softly. Part of him wanted to shout, but he knew it was unwise to draw too much attention to himself. "Emil this isn't funny. Come back here right now."

    Silence was the only response. Lukas began to worry. It wasn't like his boyfriend to ignore him like this. He wasn't entirely positive what he did to upset the younger teen, but surely it wasn't bad enough to make him run off. Lukas found himself walking faster up and down the aisles in search of Emil. Only a minute passed before his heart starting pounding and he began to feel ill. 

    Temporarily throwing his caution to the wind, he began calling Emil's name while running throughout the store. No luck. As soon as too many people started staring him, he hurried out of the store and began to search outside. The poor teen spent hours searching in vain, slowly feeling his heart sink further and further. 

     _I don't understand. Why did he leave me? What did I do?_ Lukas felt tears forming in his eyes as he tried to figure out what drove Emil away.  _What if it wasn't me? What if someone took him? What if he's somewhere scared, wondering why I'm not there to help him?_

 Lukas wasn't sure what was worse: the thought that Emil had willingly left him, or the thought that something awful had happened to him. Lukas hated the sickening mix of fear and anguish that settled in his stomach. It was something he'd only experienced twice in his life. The first time was the night he ran away, and the second was the day he almost died. The horrible feeling brought up equally horrible memories, and Lukas began to feel like throwing up.

 Trying to shake these unhelpful thoughts from his mind, Lukas wandered his way back home. He collapsed on the couch where he'd slept on so happily the night before, and curled up into a miserable ball. He didn't know how long he'd spent lying there before Mathias returned home. 

"Hey Lukas. You okay?" Mathias asked.

   Lukas only shook his head in response. 

   "What's wrong? And where's Emil?" 

   "That  _is_ what's wrong. Idiot. Emil is...gone." Lukas responded. His voice was low and weak, as if talking pained him. 

   "What do you mean he's gone?" Mathias was so confused. 

   "We were at the store when he got all upset and starting sulking behind me. After a while I turned around and he wasn't there. I looked everywhere but I couldn't find him..." Lukas explained. He didn't look up, but stayed curled up in a defensive ball. He didn't want the older teen to see how red and puffy his eyes were.

   "Do you think he ran away?" Mathias asked. He was trying to make sense of the situation.

   "No. He wasn't that upset..."

   "Well, what did you to get him mad?"

   "Nothing! We walked in, I told him not to wander off, and then he got mad." Lukas said. He didn't appreciate being questioned as if this were all his fault. 

   "Oh Lukas, we've talked about this." Mathias sighed. "When you talk to him like that it comes across like you're ordering him around."

   "It does?"

   "Yes, it does. It makes you seem less like his boyfriend and more like his brother. It makes him uncomfortable. What's more, it makes it seem like you look down on him, like he can't take care of himself." Mathias explained further. 

   "I didn't mean to do any of that! I just...I just didn't want to lose him. How ironic is that?" Lukas groaned miserably. 

   "I know you didn't mean to, you just have to get better at watching what you say. Okay?" Mathias put on a smile, but his concern for Emil was making his stomach do backflips. 

    Lukas nodded slightly, but still refused to lift his head. The two of them stayed there in a painful silence. It was a while until Mathias spoke again. 

   "As soon as Tino and Berwald get back, we could all go out and look again." Mathias suggested. 

   "Yeah. I like that idea." Lukas agreed. 

   And they did. As soon as the other two got home, they explained the situation, and they all set out immediately to hunt down their missing family member. Eventually the sun set and the moon rose, but there was still no sight of Emil. The feeling Lukas had earlier began to spread to the rest of the group, until they all felt they might puke, scream, cry, or all of the above. 

   They returned home past midnight, none of them with Emil. 

   "He can't be gone. He just can't be." Tino sobbed quietly. 

   "Do you think he might be...you know?" Mathias questioned despondently. 

   "Don't even think like that." Berwald warned. 

   "Why did this have to happen? It doesn't make sense." Lukas shook his head, his voice barely above a whisper.

   "What does the world have against that poor boy?" Tino wondered aloud in a similar tone. 

   They continued with this unhappy conversation, their minds filling with darker and darker thoughts as they went on. They longer the talked, the more hopeless they began to feel. They sunk into a melancholy state, and before long each of them abandoned any hope of a happy ending. 


	14. The Worst Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emil would have called this the worst day of his life, had he not known tomorrow would be worse.  
> (Set during the same day as the last two chapters)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next one were supposed to be all one chapter, but I finished the first half today and I really wanted to just UPDATE ALREADY so here ya go.

   As soon as Emil awoke, the pain from being kicked around earlier set in, and he groaned softly. Slowly, he sat up and looked around the small, dark room, trying to figure out what time it was. There was no clock, and no windows in the closet. The only light source was the little lantern in the corner, which he decided to leave off. 

  He looked through the small crack at the bottom of the door, and saw that it looked like it may be daytime outside. Was it the next day already? It wouldn't be surprising; he felt like he'd been asleep for ages. 

  Emil was both thrilled and horrified when the door opened. He was excited to leave his tiny room, but also afraid of what might happen to him once he did. 

 “Come on. Get out here.” His dad commanded. 

  Emil nodded and, for once, did as he was told without complaint. 

  “What time is it?” Emil asked.

  “Half past five.” 

  “In the morning?” 

  “No, the afternoon.”

  Five in the afternoon? He'd barely slept for more than a couple hours. 

  “Listen, your mom and I can't agree on what the hell to do with you, but we did agree on one thing.” His dad said, handing him a trash bag. “You need to clean this damn place. Asap.” 

  “A-All of it?” Emil questioned. The house was an absolute wreck, there was no way he could clean the whole thing alone!  

  “Noooo, just half of it.” his dad said sarcastically before slapping him. “Of course, all of it! I'm sick of lookin’ at this mess, and I'm sure as hell not cleaning it.” 

  “Yes sir…” Emil muttered before getting to work. 

   Honestly, he didn't even know a house  _ could  _ get so filthy. Over half the mess was just trash that no one had bothered to throw away! It took over an hour to pick it all up. Almost as soon as he finished cleaning up the trash, Emil felt something cold and hard connect with his face. He yelped and fell backwards, and found that his mother had thrown a bucket at him. 

  “Good. Now that all the trash is outta the way, you can finally mop that nasty floor.” she said. 

_ This would go a lot faster if you helped me instead of just watching.  _ Emil thought angrily, though he didn't dare voice this aloud. Instead, he picked up the bucket, filled it with soap and water, retrieved the mop, and started cleaning the floor. Emil smirked as he imagined himself just throwing the bucket of murky water at his mom, or hitting his dad with the filthy mop. It would feel good to pay back some of what they'd done to him. Sadly, he knew he couldn't, so instead he just kept on cleaning.

  Hours later and Emil finally finished...with one room. He groaned as he realized there was still the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom left. He startled when he heard his dad’s voice yelling at him. 

 “Who told you you were allowed to just stand there? Get to the fucking kitchen!” 

  “Yes sir. I'm sorry.” Emil said, not even trying to hide the irritation in his voice. 

  Sighing deeply, the boy dragged the cleaning supplies into the kitchen. It wasn't until the middle of the night that he was finally done with everything. 

  “Took ya long enough.” his mother scoffed. 

  “You’re the one who couldn’t even clean it in three years.” Emil retorted. He wasn’t the least bit surprised when he got hit again. He was already getting used to it. 

  “I miss the old days when ya didn't talk back all the damn time.” The woman said, shaking her head. “Anyways, go take a shower. Can't have ya looking like shit tomorrow.” 

  “What's happening tomorrow?” Emil asked. 

  “Well everyone still thinks yer missing so we had to tell the police that yer back home.” His mom explained. “And now a buncha reporters wanna come here and ask ya about the past three years and whatnot.”

  “Yeah, it'll be great telling them all about how the guy who kidnapped me did a way better job taking care of me than my parents.” Emil laughed before scowling.

  “Haha. You're so funny.” His mother rolled her eyes.

  “No, you're going to say what we tell you to say.” his father said. 

  “...what?” Emil didn't like the sound of this.

  “You're going to tell them all about how horrible the past few years were, and how awful that little blond brat was, and how happy you are to be home.” The man told him. 

   Emil laughed. “You must be joking.” 

  “Nope.”

  “There's no way I'm doing that! I-I can't… I can't say anything bad about him.” Emil panicked.

  “Why the hell not?” His mom questioned.

  “Because, I  _ love  _ him. I hate how people think so poorly of him as it is, I refuse to make them hate him more!” Emil could barely keep his anger under control, but his fear kept him in check. 

  “You don't have a choice!” His dad yelled at him, slamming him into the wall. 

  “I won't do it!” 

  “You will!”

  “Make me!” Emil screamed.

  “Fine then, I will.” his dad said darkly.

  Emil gasped as he was lifted and carried into the kitchen. His breath got knocked out as he was thrown onto the counter, and he was already regretting provoking his father. His eyes widened as his dad turned towards him holding a knife.

  “W-wait a minute, what you going to do?!” Emil cried. 

  He tried to squirm away, but his father grabbed him and held him in place. He shuddered as the man lifted the knife, and screamed as closed his eyes when he started to swing it down. When nothing happened, Emil looked up to find the blade less than an inch from his eye. 

  “Next time you don't listen, I'm not stopping the blade. Got it?” the man said, glaring down at him.

  Emil nodded. He was too shocked to speak. 

  “So tomorrow you'll say exactly what I tell you to, right?”

  Emil nodded again. 

  “Good. Now go get cleaned up, you seriously look like hell.” 

  In a daze, Emil made his way to the bathroom and turned on the shower. After staring at the water for a few moments, he finally got undressed and got it. He sat down on the floor of the shower, as he was still trembling too much to stand properly. He couldn't believe it...he'd really been that close to losing an eye. He knew his dad wasn't bluffing, he really would go through with it if Emil misbehaved again. The thought terrified the boy. 

  Emil opened his eyes and took a moment to examine himself. He already had multiple dark bruises forming across his torso, and he was still shaking. 

  “I wanna go home…” he sobbed quietly. 

  Emil wasn't sure how long he'd been in there, but at some point he heard a knock on the door, and his mother's voice yelling at him to hurry up and get out. He rushed to get dried off and dressed. He did  _ not  _ want to keep his mom waiting and make her angry. Before he left the bathroom, he looked at himself in the mirror, and scowled at how swollen his left cheek has gotten. Let them have fun explaining that one to the reporters. 

_ They'll probably just blame Lukas…  _ He thought. The idea made his heart ache.

  “Alright, kid. Go to your room.” his mom commanded. 

  “Yes ma’am.” Emil murmured. He didn't even have the energy to refuse. 

  Emil walked sullenly to his room, aware that his mom was following close behind. Part of him feared she might hit him for no reason, but he made it to his room safely. Emil startled when the door slammed behind him, and his heart sank a little when he heard the door lock. His parents would probably never leave his room unlocked again. 

  The boy settled down on his little mat, irritated by his still-damp hair. Emil couldn't fall asleep for the life of him: his mind was too occupied worrying for tomorrow. He couldn't believe he would have to go and lie about the love of his life in front of god knows how many viewers. It made him nauseous. 

  “I don't know how much longer I can take this,” Emil whimpered. “And it's only been one day…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I was so scatter brained writing this. I wrote part of it at night, part of it during math class, part of it while playing Cards Against Humanity with my family, and then finished it tonight.  
> I think it came out okay? If there's anything seriously wrong with it that I didn't notice please tell me.


	15. Bad News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lukas and Mathias come across some bad news about Emil's whereabouts. Hehe I read that as "whereaboots" in my head. I need to stop drinking coffee at night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JFC this story was originally only supposed to be like 5 chapters what have I done XD

   When Mathias woke up, he was confused by an odd warmth pressed against him. He slowly opened his eyes to find Lukas laying on top of him. After taking a moment to fangirl about how damn precious his friend was, Mathias decided he should probably wake the younger teen up. 

   "Lukas." he yawned, shaking the sleeping blond. "Lukas get up."

   As soon as Lukas woke up and noticed the position he was in, he jumped away and gave Mathias a death glare. 

   "What were you doing?" he demanded. 

   "Hey now, I didn't do anything." Mathias defended. "I just woke up and you were on me. You probably sleepwalked over here."

   Mathias couldn't resist chuckling, resulting in his being attacked with a pillow. 

   "Hey. The sound of you killing me is gonna wake the others up." Mathias said, pulling the pillow out of Lukas's hands and getting him to sit back down. It wasn't until then that the two got a look at each other's faces. They both had red, puffy eyes with dark circles under them. 

   "Oh my god Lukas were you cr-"

   "Shut it." Lukas interrupted. "You should wash your face. You look like shit."

   Mathias sighed and nodded. He went outside and filled a bucket partly up with water to wash his face and hair. His hair was even crazier than usual if it got too dirty, and he had to look somewhat decent for work. By the time he got back inside Tino and Berwald had woken up. 

   "Good morning, Mathias." the smaller one said. Tino's voice was a lot weaker and raspier than usual, and his eyes looked similar to Lukas's. Seeing his ever-cheery friend like that felt like a stab to Mathias's heart. He tried to shake it off, however, and beamed back at him. 

   "Mornin Tino! Rough night, eh?" Mathias laughed softly, trying to lighten the mood. 

   "Mathias please...not now." Tino whispered, shaking his head. 

   Mathias chanced a glance at Berwald, and noticed that the larger teen had his hair covering his eyes and kept his head down.  _Dammit Emil, hurry up and come back so we can all stop crying already._ He thought sadly. 

   "We should get ready to go to work, guys." Mathias said. "I know it sucks but we can't afford to lose these jobs."

   Berwald nodded and stood, helping Tino up. Within minutes all three of them were ready, and took off. Before Mathias could get through the doorway, Lukas's voice stopped him. 

   "Wait. Don't leave me..." 

   "Lukas, you know I have to go." Mathias sighed. 

   "I don't care. I don't want to be alone." Lukas refused to make eye contact with his friend, instead staring intently at the floor. 

   Mathias sighed again and shook his head, before laughing and smiling. "Well then, I guess it's bring your best bro to work day today!"

   The elder teen went and grabbed his over sized hoodie and threw it to his friend. 

   "Mathias it's a billion degrees out there." Lukas stated irritably. 

   "The last thing we need is everyone at work getting a look at your face." Mathias explained. Lukas nodded and put the hoodie on. "See, I can be smart too, when I wanna be." 

   As the two walked to Mathias's workplace, Lukas practically radiated irritation at the impractical way he was dressed. When they got there, no one questioned why Mathias had brought a stranger in with him-it was a pretty laid back place, and Mathias's job was pretty simple. He just had to load and unload shipments all day. He didn't even have to deliver anything. They went  _almost_ unnoticed,when suddenly a tall, intimidating looking man-or was he a teenager?- stopped them. 

   "Kohler, who's this?" he asked. "It may be my imagination, but he looks a little suspicious."

   "Sheesh! Not even a greeting kiss first? You're so mean, Tim." Mathias teased. "This is a friend of mine is all. He's a high schooler but he was too sick to go to school today and he didn't have anywhere to go until his parents got home."

   "So you brought him here?"

   "Got a problem?" Lukas growled. 

   "With my boyfriend bringing in some random kid I've never heard of before? Maybe." Yep, Tim was definitely a teenager. 

   "What, are you jealous?" Lukas mocked. 

   "You-"

   "Hey now! Luk- er, Lucca is just my friend, okay?" Mathias caught himself just before saying Lukas's name out loud. 

    _Seriously? Lucca? That's the best you can come up with?_ Lukas thought, rolling his eyes.  _Pitiful._

After a few more minutes of awkward conversation, the older teens got to work while Lukas sat down and watched. Goodness this was awful. Lukas didn't want to be stuck watching people do the most boring job on earth instead of looking for Emil. Still, a small part of him told him to stay. To not be alone. He noticed a TV a little ways off, and focused his attention on that instead. After only half an hour, a  _very_ interesting story came on the news. 

   "Mathias. You need to see this." he called out. 

   "Lukas, I'm kinda busy here." his friend responded. 

   "I'm serious, get over here now." Lukas insisted. 

   Mathias glanced apologetically at his partner before making his way over to Lukas. As soon as he saw what his friend was calling him over to see, his jaw dropped. On the TV screen were Emil and his parents, with the headline, "Kidnapping Victim Returns Home After Three Years," scrolling across the bottom. 

    _"So, Emil, how did you manage to escape your captivity?"_ the reporter woman asked. 

    _"W-Well, for some reason h-he just really trusted me and took me out with him sometimes. We were at the store uh...yesterday a-and I just happened to run into my dad, so he took me home."_ Emil was shaking uncontrollably, and it looked like it physically pained him to speak the words he was saying. 

    _"He? As in your captor, Lukas Bondevik?"_

_"Yes ma'am."  
_

_"How did you survive the past three years with him? What was it like?"_ the reporter inquired. 

   Emil froze and started to cry.

    _"I'm sorry, is it too soon?"_

    _"No, he's fine."_   Emil's dad answered for him. He squeezed Emil's shoulder in a seemingly reassuring manner, but Lukas and Mathias knew Emil well enough to tell when something was hurting him, and the boy was undeniably in pain.  _"Go on, son."_

    _"It was horrible."_ Emil's voice was quiet and shaky.  _"H-He did so many awful, awful things to me..."_ When he went into more detail about it, Lukas and Mathias recognized the stories as all the things Emil had talked about his dad doing to him. The cruel irony of it all sickened them. 

   "What is this? Why is he saying these things?" Lukas asked. 

   "I don't think he wants to be. He looks so scared..." Mathias said softly. 

    _"Oh you poor thing! Is that why you look so beat up?"_

    _"Y-Yes ma'am. I'm just happy to be home."_

Lukas looked about ready to smash the TV, and Mathias was staring, dumbfounded. Even though he knew Emil wasn't saying of this by choice, it still hurt. 

   "Come on, Mathias, I could really use some help here!" Tim called out. 

  "Huh? Oh right! Sorry!" Mathias called back. "Sorry Lukas." he said, before rushing back to work. 

   Lukas continued to sit and watch the news report. Seeing how weak and how hurt Emil was made him angrier than he'd ever been in his life. He couldn't help noticing that Emil's house number was visible in the background. It wouldn't be that hard to find out where he lived...

   That was it! He didn't know how, or when, or if it was even really possible, but Lukas decided that he was going to go to Emil's house and get him back. He had to. He was starting to get up when he realized they'd already told Mathias's boyfriend that he would be stuck there for a while. Lukas groaned and sat back down, impatiently waiting for the work day to be over. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used a hyphen instead of a dash because this computer can't do dashes and I want to die.


	16. The Search Ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I decided to write this chapter after having a conversation with someone about how much I hate it when the story I'm reading won't update

   Lukas didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until he felt Mathias shaking him awake. 

   "Hey, it's time to go home." Mathias said. Lukas nodded. They stayed silent for most of the walk home, neither of them in a very talkative, social mood. Lukas considered talking to Mathias about his plan, but decided that going after Emil was something he should do alone. It was his fault, not to mention his boyfriend, so he didn't want to drag anyone else into this. 

   "Mathias. I have something I need to do, I'll meet you at home later, okay?"

   "What? What is it?" the confused teen asked. 

   "Nothing important." Lukas replied simply.

   "If you say so..." Mathias said doubtfully. "If it's really no big deal, then who am I to stop you?"

   "Thanks for understanding." Lukas nodded. "But before I go, there's something I want to tell you first."

   "Oh? And what's that?"

   Lukas stopped walking, grabbing Mathias's shoulder and turning him so he could look him in the eyes. "I wanted to say thank you. For everything."

   "What do you mean?" Mathias eyed him curiously. 

   "I mean exactly what I said. Thank you for taking me in, taking care of Emil, letting us stay with you, letting me come to work with you today...just, everything." Lukas explained. "And thanks for always lightening the mood when everything gets shitty. It's annoying sometimes, but annoyed is better than depressed."

   "Y-You're welcome. It's really no big deal..."

   "It is. Look, I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with, and I know I'm not exactly nice to you most of the time, but for some reason you still put up with me and I've never once told you how much I appreciate that. It really does mean more than you could imagine."

   "Lukas, why are you telling me this?" Mathias asked, worried. 

   "Because, idiot, you're my best friend. And it was irritating me thinking that you might never know any of that." Lukas looked down, feeling a bit embarrassed about admitting all of that. Still, the thought that something might happen to him, and his friend would never know how much he cared about him...he couldn't handle that. "Without you, my life would be nothing. Literally, I would be dead right now. I guess what I'm saying is...well, I kind of love you."

   "Lukas...now I  _know_ you're up to something dangerous." Mathias determined. 

   "What? What gives you that idea?" Lukas asked defensively. 

   "You wouldn't tell me all of that unless you honestly thought you wouldn't have another chance to. What are you planning?" Mathias asked. Lukas sighed. What was the point in lying now?

   "I'm planning on going after Emil." Lukas confessed. "I think I know how to find him and I'll be damned if I don't at least try."

   "Alone? Are you insane!?" Mathias practically yelled. 

   "I don't want you or any of the others getting dragged into this and getting hurt, okay? I can handle this myself!" Lukas yelled back. 

   "No way. We all love Emil just as much as you do. He's our family too, we deserve to help get him back home. I'm positive Tino and Berwald would agree." Mathias insisted. 

   "Fine." Lukas relented. 

   "Oh, and Lukas?"

   "Hmm?"

   "I love ya too, bestie."

   When they got home, Tino and Berwald were already there. Neither of them were talking. They weren't doing anything for that matter. They were just sort of...staring blankly at the ground. 

   "Guys, we're home!" Mathias announced as he and Lukas walked in. The other two looked at him but didn't say anything. It seemed being alone for the whole day really got to them. "Guys! Listen up. Lukas has got a plan to get Emil back. Don't you wanna help?"

   That sure got their attention. They immediately snapped out of their dazes and turned towards Lukas. 

   "Okay, so Mathias and I saw Emil and his parents on the news-that's a whole story of its own that I am not getting into right now-and I managed to get a good look at his house and house number, and I think if we could get a map or computer we could figure out where he lives. From there I have no clue how to get him out, but we I think we could do it." Lukas told them. 

   "That sounds crazy." Tino said. "Let's do it."

   "I'm in." Berwald agreed. 

   "Alright. It's time to bring this search to an end." Mathias said. 

   Within half an hour, they had some semblance of a plan. Tino would go to the library and use a computer to figure out where Emil lived. They would go to the house and wait until they were positive everyone was asleep and then try to get in. They weren't sure how to do that yet, but figured they could wing it once they got there. Then, all they'd have to do is get Emil and get out.

   Once Tino left, the other three began anxiously awaiting his return. 

   "What if something happens to him while he's there" Mathias asked.

   "Like what?" Lukas questioned. 

   "What if he gets caught or something!"

   "Caught doing what, using a computer? He's not committing a crime." Lukas countered. 

   "What if they figure out what he's doing?"

   "How would they?"

   "Shut it you two." Berwald interrupted. "You're making it worse."

   The three of them waited in crushing silence, their anxiety multiplying every second. When Tino finally walked through the door, they all let out sighs of relief.

   "So?" they all asked. 

   "I got it. I found where he lives." Tino smiled. 

   Within the hour they all found themselves outside Emil's house. They were a bit dismayed to find all the lights still on, but they supposed it wasn't too surprising. It wasn't exactly out of the ordinary for people to still be awake this early. Lukas was in the middle of criticizing how gross and run down the place looked when they heard voices inside. They moved so they were crouching right outside the window, listening in intently.  

 "Think he's ready to come out?" they heard a man's voice say. 

   "I say we leave him in there for the next few days. I bet that'll break him." a woman's voice replied. 

   "True, but he still needs to be punished for messing up today."

   The four teens looked at each other in worry. They didn't like the sound of this. The house went dead silent for a while, and they felt the need to hold their breaths lest they be heard. They were shocked when the silence was broken by a loud  _bam_ and a scream. 

   "W-Why?" a voice choked out. It was Emil!

   "What part of say exactly as I tell you didn't you understand?!" the man's voice screamed. There were several more thumps, each followed by several more screams.  

   "What the hell is he doing?" Tino whispered angrily. 

   "I don't know, but I want to kill him." Lukas whispered back. 

   "I couldn't remember everything word for word! It isn't my fault!" they could hear Emil scream. The sounds that followed were all less than pleasant. "Please stop! I'm sorry okay it was an honest mistake!" 

   "I had everything scripted so perfectly...but you wouldn't stop fucking crying and botching everything up!" the man yelled, startling the eavesdropping teens. There was a crash, and another scream. 

   "I'm sorry dammit I'm sorry! You were hurting me, I couldn't help it!" Emil's voice sounded desperate, pleading. It completely broke the hearts of his family. His real one, that is. 

   "That's it. I'm going in there now. I can't listen to this." Lukas said. 

   "Lukas wait! You can't!" Mathias anxiously whispered. 

   "How can you just sit here and listen to what they're doing to him? I can't take anymore!" Lukas whispered back.

   "You aren't even armed, what can you do to help him? Going in like this is suicide." Tino tried to reason. 

   "I don't care." Lukas said. "I have to help him..." as if to prove his point, Emil screamed again, sending shivers down everyone's spines. 

   "I don't like this anymore than you do, but we have to be patient." Tino insisted. 

   "But I-"

   "You can't help anyone if you're dead." Tino asserted. "And besides, even if they don't kill you you'd be trespassing on their property. They could call the police on you. How are you going to do anything from jail?"

   "At least then maybe they'll see how awful these people are and take Emil away from them..." Lukas said. He desperately wanted to just save Emil already. 

   "He wouldn't want that. Not if it meant something bad would happen to you. You know that." Tino told him. 

   "I know I just...this is killing me." Lukas said. For the first time he felt he might cry in front of his friends. 

   "It's killing all of us." Mathias interjected. "But we can't blow it now."

   Lukas nodded and tried to calm down, but Emil's screams weren't helping. It felt like years before the screams died out, and even longer before the lights all turned off. After half an hour passed in dark silence, the group of teens decided it was time to bust in. They tried all the windows to see if they would open, but had no luck. It seemed they would have to bust in. 

   "Wait! We haven't tried the front door yet!" Mathias called out in a hushed voice. 

   "What kind of idiots would lock all their windows but leave the door unlocked?" Lukas scoffed. 

   "These ones apparently..." Berwald said as he opened the front door. 

   "Oh you have got to be kidding me." Lukas facepalmed. 

   The four of them made their way inside, looking around for the closet they knew Emil would be kept in. Once they found what they thought was it, they knocked softly, testing to see if Emil was in there. Their thoughts were confirmed when a soft voice responded.

   "P-Please...no more. I told you I'm really really sorry so please just stop..."

   "Emil, hey. It's me, it's okay. You're going to be okay." Lukas said, trying to comfort him. 

   "Lukas?"

   "Duh. Who else" Lukas smiled. He actually found him. 

   "Oh I get it. I'm dreaming..." Emil groaned miserably. Lukas heard a slight thump, which he could only assume was Emil hitting his head against the door. 

   "No, you're not. I promise you're not. I'm really here. We all are. Everything is going to be okay." Lukas assured him. "Mathias, where's the key to this thing?"

   "Haven't found it yet." Mathias replied. 

   "It's in the bottom drawer of the table near the couch. I found it while I was cleaning but there wasn't exactly anything I could do about it..." Emil said.

   Tino, who was the closest to the table, grabbed the key and quickly unlocked the closet. Lukas immediately took Emil into his arms and started carrying him towards the front door, trying to ignore all the blood. Tino closed and relocked the door before replacing the key back where he found it. Next thing, all five of them were out of the house and on the street rushing home. 

   "I can't believe it...you came for me. You all actually came for me." Emil said in astonishment.

   "Well yeah!" Tino exclaimed.

   "Did you think we wouldn't?" Mathias asked.

   "You know yer too important to us." Berwald said.  

   "So don't ever scare us like that again, got it?" Lukas added. 

   "Got it." Emil said, chuckling weakly. Yeah, he was pretty banged up, and he was still in a lot of pain, but somehow Emil knew that Lukas hadn't lied to him earlier: everything really was going to be okay. 

   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put so much thought into how I was going to end this thing, you have no idea. At first I was going to write an epilogue to wrap everything up all happy like but then I realized that was stupid. This story could go in literally any direction from here. Maybe they'll get home fine, maybe they won't. Maybe they'll all stay together, maybe they'll split up. They might all make it to adulthood or one or more of them might die along the way. There are just way too many outcomes and I can't pick just one, so I decided to leave this thing open ended. You can choose to end it happily, sadly, dramatically, whatever, but I like the idea of you guys ending it however you want. 
> 
> You don't have to but I would soooo love it if you all told me what sort of ending you picked. It would be hella fun to read. For me and the other readers. For example, I personally choose to say that they grow up and get a real house together and live happily ever after, but that's just me.


End file.
